Attorney General William Barr upended long-standing Justice Department policy on Monday by announcing federal prosecutors could investigate “specific allegations” of voter fraud in last week’s election. In response, the Justice Department’s chief election crimes prosecutor, Richard Pilger, resigned in protest. Former Justice Department official Vanita Gupta criticized Barr, saying, “this is about disruption,disinformation, and sowing chaos.”
This comes as top Republicans are backing President Trump’s refusal to concede the election, claiming — without providing any evidence — that the vote was marred by fraud. According to the Associated Press, Biden has secured 290 votes in the Electoral College, and his lead in the popular vote is approaching 5 million. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defended Trump’s decision not to concede to Biden.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options.”
The Trump campaign is also continuing to file numerous lawsuits in battleground states despite no evidence emerging of voter fraud. Voting rights expert and author Ari Berman responded to the news by writing, “There were no irregularities. This is an attempted coup & every major figure in America needs to denounce it. US attorneys need to resign in protest. They are trying to overturn the election & subvert the will of the people.” We’ll have more on this story later in the broadcast.