Former President Trump lashed out at his Attorney General Bill Barr after the Atlantic published excerpts from Jonathan Karl’s forthcoming book, “Betrayal” in which the former AG calls claims of election fraud “bullsh*t.”
As Rebecca reported on Sunday, Karl writes about how Barr believed Trump would lose the 2020 election and wasn’t surprised to see that happen.
He also knew that at some point, Trump was going to confront him about the allegations, and he wanted to be able to say that he had looked into them and that they were unfounded. So, in addition to giving prosecutors approval to open investigations into clear and credible allegations of substantial fraud, Barr began his own, unofficial inquiry into the major claims that the president and his allies were making.
“My attitude was: It was put-up or shut-up time,” Barr told me. “If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bulls**t.” (The Atlantic)
Karl also detailed conversations between then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Barr about Trump, and how the Kentucky Republican was concerned about how the allegations would affect the runoff elections in Georgia. McConnell told Barr he was in the best position to “inject some reality into this situation.” Barr understood and said he’d find the “appropriate time” to “shoot down the talk of widespread fraud.”
In a lengthy statement, Trump blasted Barr and said he “failed to investigate election fraud, and really let down the American people.” This was not the only issue Trump was disappointed with Barr on, as the former president also brought up how Barr “failed to understand the Horowitz report and let everyone down with respect to getting a timely investigation (where’s Durham?) on all of the corruption of the Obama-Biden Administration.”
Trump then listed a number of what he claims are examples of election fraud, and questioned why, if Barr felt the way presented in Karl’s book, he wrote to Trump in his final letter that he was “greatly honored” and “proud to have played a role in the many successes and unprecedented achievements you have delivered for the American people.”
The 45th president said he believed it was McConnell, whom he refers to as “another beauty,” pushing him all along due to his concerns about GOP chances in the runoff Senate elections.
“Bill Barr was a disappointment in every sense of the word,” Trump said. “Besides which, Barr, who was Attorney General (lawyer) shouldn't be speaking about the President. Instead of doing his job, he did the opposite and told people within the Justice Department not to investigate the election. Just like he did with the Mueller report and the cover up of Crooked Hillary and RUSSIA RUSSIA RUSSIA, they don’t want to investigate the real facts.”
????President Trump Releases Statement on Weak RINO Bill Barr???? pic.twitter.com/PHZASDQPaW
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) June 28, 2021