No proof of vote fraud, says US justice dept chief
US attorney general William Barr’s statement is a huge blow to President Donald Trump, who had appointed him
Yashwant Raj
WASHINGTON: US attorney general William Barr on Tuesday said the justice department has found no evidence of widespread voting fraud to change the outcome of the 2020 election, dealing a big blow to President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn his defeat citing unfounded claims of poll fraud.
Justice department prosecutors and FBI agents had followed up specific poll fraud complaints and information they had received, but “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” he told the Associated Press. Barr also said he named US attorney Bill Durham as special counsel to investigate origins of the Russia meddling probe into the 2016 election.
As US attorney, a political appointee, Barr would be removed by the incoming Joe Biden administration, but not as special counsel.
Barr’s remarks were consistent with the assessment by the department of homeland security’s top election security official, Christopher Krebs, who said the “2020 election was the most secure in US history”. Trump subsequently fired him.
President Trump’s attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis hit back in a statement, saying “there hasn’t been any semblance of a department of justice investigation” and that the lawyers had “gathered ample evidence of illegal voting in at
WASHINGTON: The US justice department is investigating an alleged bribery scheme involving campaign donations to secure a presidential pardon, a court filing showed on Tuesday.
The document, which discusses the legality of searching communications and electronic devices of individuals, including attorneys, is highly redacted, with all identifying information blacked out. But it refers to a “secret lobbying scheme” directed at “senior White House officials” to gain a presidential “pardon or reprieve of sentence” for an unnamed individual.
The scheme, under investigation since at least August, appears to have involved lobbyists and lawyers, a wellheeled donor to political campaigns, and a man or woman who is or was in
least six states, which they have not examined”.
They have been unable to prove any of this so-called evidence in any court of law despite having filed more than three dozen lawsuits along with Republican allies.
Seemingly undeterred by being fact-checked by his attorney general, Trump tweeted out a stream of TV clips of so-called witnesses speaking about election fraud.
Trump teased running again for president in 2024 as he hosted a holiday reception at the White House on Tuesday evening. “It’s been an amazing prison and is hoping for presidential intervention.
The filing indicates that the lobbyists and lawyers contacted White House officials requesting a presidential pardon or reprieve, citing the “past substantial campaign contributions” and “anticipated future substantial political contributions” from a donor.
It suggests that the donor is making the offer on behalf of the person seeking clemency. The document does not indicate when the actions involved took place, and, in the sections not redacted, there is no reference to Trump or his campaign.
But the filing was revealed amid speculation that, with six weeks left in the White House after losing the November 3 election, President Donald Trump is preparing to grant clemency to more people, after pardoning Michael Flynn, former national security adviser.
four years,” Trump told the crowd, which included many Republican National Committee members. “We’re trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years.”
President-elect Biden, on the other hand, has continued to put together his administration publicly unaffected by Trump’s efforts to overturn the presidential election.
He introduced his economic team comprising Janet Yellen and Neera Tanden, picks for treasury secretary and director of the office of management and budget respectively, in Wilmington, Delaware.