Yesterday Attorney General Bill Barr answered a question from the Associated Press about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. A reminder of what he said:
Barr told the AP that U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they’ve received, but “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”Barr said earlier that people were confusing the use of the federal criminal justice system with allegations that should be made in civil lawsuits. He said a remedy for many complaints would be a top-down audit by state or local officials, not the U.S. Justice Department.
“There’s a growing tendency to use the criminal justice system as sort of a default fix-all,” he said, but first there must be a basis to believe there is a crime to investigate.
“Most claims of fraud are very particularized to a particular set of circumstances or actors or conduct. ... And those have been run down; they are being run down,” Barr said. “Some have been broad and potentially cover a few thousand votes. They have been followed up on.”
After multiple reporters and media figures classified Barr's comments as "no evidence" of voter fraud, DOJ followed up.
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— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) December 2, 2020
The Department will continue to receive and vigorously pursue all specific and credible allegations of fraud as expeditiously as possible.”#DOJ #electionfraud
In September, Barr warned against mass mail in voting and the potential for fraud.
"A bipartisan commission chaired by Jimmy Carter and James Baker said back in 2009 that mail-in voting is fraught with the risk of fraud and coercion.
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) September 2, 2020
The only time the narrative changed is after this administration came in."
– AG Bill Barr pic.twitter.com/qWdX7uUf9V