Former President Donald Trump is taking aim at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over reports that he asked then-Attorney General William Barr to speak out about the former president’s claims of widespread fraud in the election.
In a statement on Monday, Trump said, “Had Mitch McConnell fought for the Presidency like he should have, there would right now be Presidential Vetoes on all of the phased Legislation that he has proven to be incapable of stopping.”
“Not to mention, he lost two Senatorial seats in Georgia, making the Republicans the Minority in the Senate. He never fought for the White House and blew it for the Country. Too bad I backed him in Kentucky, he would have been primaried and lost!” he continued.
Finally, Trump said, “Based on press reports, he convinced his buddy, Bill Barr, to get the corrupt (based on massive amounts of evidence that the Fake News refuses to mention!) election done, over with, and sealed for Biden, ASAP!”
Read the statement below:
An excerpt of ABC’s Jon Karl’s book “Betrayal” published by The Atlantic on Sunday told the story of how McConnell urged Barr to speak out about Trump’s election claims.
As the run-off elections for Georgia’s two Senate seats drew near, McConnell reportedly believed the key to winning the two seats and maintaining a majority in the Senate was to campaign on the fact that Biden won the election and needed a check on his power in the Senate. But, he feared Trump’s claims were “damaging” to the country and would hurt Republicans’ chances.
“Look, we need the president in Georgia,” McConnell told Barr. “And so we cannot be frontally attacking him right now. But you’re in a better position to inject some reality into this situation. You are really the only one who can do it.”
Barr reportedly responded, “I understand that…And I’m going to do it at the appropriate time.”
In a separate call, McConnell told Barr, “Bill, I look around, and you are the only person who can do it.”