A former U.S. Attorney blew the whistle on a purported directive he received from then Attorney General William Barr not to pursue or raise public awareness about election fraud cases. McSwain sent the letter to Donald Trump, who released it. Barr has now run to the Washington Post to “rebuke” the claim.
“Any suggestion that McSwain was told to stand down from investigating allegations of election fraud is false. It’s just false,” Barr said. He added that the allegations in the letter “appeared to have been made to mollify President Trump to gain his support for McSwain’s planned run for governor.”
The Washington Post’s report attempted to give context over the error-filled Pennsylvania election.
“Barr said McSwain told him in their phone call that his reference to a ‘directive’ involved a single matter having to do with ‘allegations of irregularities’ in Delaware County, Pa., and that the directive came in a conversation with Richard Donoghue, a senior Justice Department official,” the WaPo report said.
“Donoghue never suggested to McSwain he stand down from any investigation into fraud,” Barr said.
“While I was made aware of allegations relating to conduct in Delaware County, I did not preclude DOJ personnel in Pennsylvania from investigating allegations of criminal misconduct relating to the 2020 elections or direct that any such allegations be handled exclusively by state authorities,” Donoghue wrote in a text message to the Post.