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During an interview given to the Associated Press, Attorney General William Barr stated that he believed there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. This is a complete reversal of messaging from the White House, however.
President Donald Trump maintains that he lost the election due to voter fraud perpetrated by Democratic governors, election officials, and others aligned against him.
Barr told the Associated Press that the Department of Justice was going to investigate specific allegations of voter fraud, but that “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”
The president and his legal team were swift to respond to Barr’s allegations, stating that “nothing even resembling” an investigation had been done into the campaign’s allegations of fraud.
While the election was a month ago, Trump has still not conceded to challenger Joe Biden. However, the White House has begun the process of transitioning to a new president: Biden is now receiving daily intelligence briefings and has selected many officials to be in his cabinet.
Barr’s statements struck many conservatives as a shocking betrayal from one of the president’s more steadfast allies. Previously, Barr had stood by the president during the Mueller investigation, and was a critical ally to Trump when the report was released.
Within, Special Counsel Robert Mueller suggested that a grand jury could indict the president for his campaign’s ties to Russia. Barr, however, characterized the report differently, putting the context of Mueller’s statements in a different light to shield the president from the most damaging aspects of the report.
Meanwhile, the president has yet to speak at length about his future plans. It’s becoming clear that he will likely not be in office by January 20, though he has yet to go into what he might do after leaving office. Some of the president’s allies have worried that the numerous lawsuits brought on during his four years in office could result in serious legal issues going forward.
Others, however, are optimistic that the president may make another bid for the White House in 2024. Trump remains popular with a large portion of Americans, making it unlikely he will simply fade from the spotlight. Indeed, many in the Republican Party seem to understand that Trump will command quite a bit of respect going forward, even if he isn’t in the Oval Office.
