(Commission statement of 6 January)
The commission showed a video of the testimony of former Attorney General William Barr behind closed doors, where Bar simply said that Trump’s allegations were “nonsense.”
Bar, who resigned in December 2020, said part of the reason he left the Trump administration was because of false allegations of fraud by Trump.
“I have made it clear that I do not agree with the idea of saying that the election was stolen and to release these things that I told the president were nonsense,” Barr said in a statement.
Bar announced publicly on December 1, 2020, that the Ministry of Justice had not disclosed evidence of widespread voter fraud. His comments infuriated Trump, and Barr resigned a few weeks later.
Bar was replaced by then-Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who was subjected to a campaign of pressure from Trump and his allies to throw support at the Justice Department behind Trump’s false allegations of voter fraud. When he resisted, Trump considered replacing him with a loyalist who would support baseless allegations of fraud.
During his resignation, Bar did not state this reason. Instead, he began with:
“I appreciate the opportunity to inform you this afternoon of the Department’s review of allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 elections and how these allegations will continue to be prosecuted. At a time when the country is so deeply divided, it is obliged at all levels of government and all agencies operating within their competences to do everything possible to ensure the integrity of elections and to promote public confidence in their outcome.
Watch the moment:
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