Attorney General William Barr says the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not yet found evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election that would change the outcome.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, Barr said, “To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.”
His comments come as President Donald Trump refuses to concede the election and is continuing to make baseless allegations that there was massive fraud that cost him his reelection bid.
Major news outlets began to call the election for President-elect Joe Biden on November 7.
Shortly after Barr’s comments were published, members of Trump’s legal team released a statement claiming they had produced evidence of massive fraud.
“With all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn’t been any semblance of a Department of Justice investigation. We have gathered ample evidence of illegal voting in at least six states, which they have not examined,” the statement read.
“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.”
Finally, the legal team said, “Nonetheless, we will continue our pursuit of the truth through the judicial system and state legislatures, and continue toward the Constitution’s mandate and ensuring that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is not. Again, 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.”
Last month, Barr authorized the DOJ to “pursue substantial allegations” of voter fraud, as IJR reported.
“Such inquiries and reviews may be conducted if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State,” Barr said in a memo authorizing the investigations.
He added, “Any investigation of claims of irregularities that, if true, would clearly not impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State should normally be deferred until after the election certification process is completed.”
At the time, a DOJ official told NBC News that Barr’s memo simply authorizes such investigations and does not necessarily mean that there would be investigations.
On Sunday, Trump slammed the DOJ and FBI for what he said was a lack of action in investigating his campaign’s voter fraud claims. He accused the agencies of being “missing in action,” as IJR reported.
“Can’t tell you where they are. I ask are they looking at it, everyone says, ‘Yes, they’re looking at it.’ Look where are they with Comey, McCabe, and all these other people?” he said, adding, “I said I’ll stay out of it. I wish I didn’t make that statement. There’s no reason really why I have to.”