Barr Tells DOJ to Investigate “Substantial Allegations” of Voter Fraud

On Monday, William Barr, US Attorney General, told the country’s top federal prosecutors in the justice department to “pursue substantial allegations” of voting fraud in the presidential election before states certify their ballots ahead of the Electoral College vote, which takes place on December 14.

Barr’s authorization prompted Richard Pilger, director of election crimes for the Department of Justice, to resign in protest, stating in an email that Barr is attempting to implement a new policy which would invalidate the Non-interference Policy for investigating state ballot fraud, which has been in place for forty years.

In a densely worded memo, Barr noted that “most allegations” of suspected election fraud are not significant enough to affect the outcome; although, he said “that is not always the case.” He further stated the impact of departmental actions which could change the results are “greatly minimized,” despite the fact that he supports Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud. Barr has directed prosecutors to examine any alleged irregularities before state ballot results are certified. State election officials have widely reported no indication of fraud in their elections.

A DOJ official said there was no request from anyone for Barr to issue the memo, the purpose of which remains unclear, since investigators know their job and there has been no conclusive evidence of “widespread” voter fraud. The DOJ official further said Barr appears to have been obsessed with the notion of fraud for the past several weeks.