Trump's Ardent Ally Confirms There Was No Widespread Election Fraud

Attorney General William Barr, an ardent ally of Donald Trump, on Tuesday disputed the president’s claims of widespread election fraud during the 2020 presidential race.

Barr said the U.S. Justice Department found no evidence of voter fraud that could change the election outcome.

“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election,” Barr said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Before the election, Barr had repeatedly said that mail-in voting was vulnerable to substantial fraud. He also suggested that China could threaten the integrity of the election, even when an official intelligence assessment found no proof of his claim.

“Elections that have been held with mail have found substantial fraud and coercion,” Barr had said.

President Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani issued a response insisting that the Justice Department had not conducted a sufficient investigation into allegations of election irregularities. He also claimed investigators did not interview people who said they witnessed criminal behavior during the election.

“We have many witnesses swearing under oath they saw crimes being committed in connection with voter fraud. As far as we know, not a single one has been interviewed by the DOJ. The Justice Department also hasn’t audited any voting machines or used their subpoena powers to determine the truth,” Giuliani said in a statement.

“With the greatest respect to the Attorney General, his opinion appears to be without any knowledge or investigation of the substantial irregularities and evidence of systemic fraud,” Giuliani added.

Several Trump allies previously dismissed the president's allegations of widespread fraud. Among them were Republican Govs. Doug Ducey of Arizona and Brian Kemp of Georgia, who certified their states' votes for Joe Biden, Politico reported.

On Nov. 18, Trump fired Christopher Krebs, the nation’s top security official, after he vouched for the integrity of the 2020 election. The ousted official had issued a series of statements that denounced Trump's claims and those of his Republican supporters before being removed from his position.

Trump also fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Nov. 10, claiming he was not “loyal enough.” Esper had previously opposed the president’s plan to use active-duty troops to combat the protests and unrest across the U.S.