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Monday, December 14, 2020
After a dispute over the election result
United States Attorney General Barr resigns
William Barr has long been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. But then the Justice Minister falls from grace, not least because he contradicts Trump’s story of massive electoral fraud. Now Barr is throwing the last few meters.
Amid the dispute over the outcome of the US elections, Attorney General William Barr presented his resignation to current President Donald Trump. A resignation letter posted by Trump on Twitter said Barr would resign on December 23. Trump wrote on Twitter that Barr had done an “excellent job.” His deputy Jeff Rosen will take over the office. Trump said Barr will leave office just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family. He stressed that the two had a “very good” relationship.
Barr, in turn, praised Trump’s work in his farewell letter. He praised the “many unprecedented successes” that Trump has achieved for the American people. The president’s performance is all the more historic in that he had to prevail against the “implacable resistance” of his political opponents. “Few could have survived these attacks,” Barr wrote. Trump, however, pushed the country forward despite the attacks, for example by strengthening the military and the economy and curbing illegal migration.
Trump disappoints for lack of support
It wasn’t as harmonious recently between the two: Trump had voiced harsh criticism of Barr last Saturday. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that the attorney general had been aware of an investigation into the son of US President-elect Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, since the spring. Barr wanted to keep the investigation out of the election campaign, the newspaper said. “A huge disappointment!” Trump wrote. “Why didn’t Bill Barr reveal the truth about Hunter Biden to the public before the election?” Hunter Biden announced last Wednesday that he was under federal investigation for “tax issues.” He had been the target of attacks during the election campaign of Trump, who alleged corruption against the Biden family. The background for this is Hunter Biden’s questionable foreign business in Ukraine and China. Between 2014 and 2019 he held a lucrative position on the supervisory board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. During his time as Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden was responsible for Ukraine.
Republican Trump has yet to acknowledge Democrat Biden’s electoral victory and presents himself as the victim of massive electoral fraud. Neither he nor his lawyers have presented any credible evidence. Barr had also said he knew of no evidence of massive voter fraud. Trump then left open whether he wanted to retain Barr and called the Justice Department a “disappointment.” When asked by a reporter if he still trusts Barr, Trump said after Barr’s comments: “Ask me that in a few weeks.”
Trump continues his efforts to overturn the election results with legal action despite dozens of setbacks in the courts of various states and in the Washington Supreme Court. He made the announcement of Barr’s departure public after the votes of the electorate in almost every state in the United States and the capital district of Washington confirmed Biden’s victory over Trump on the ballot. The California vote lifted Biden above the threshold of the necessary 270 votes Monday night. American media commentators also saw Trump’s message about Barr as an attempt by the president to divert attention from this crucial milestone for Biden.
Trump nominated Barr as attorney general in December 2018 after former incumbent Jeff Sessions resigned at Trump’s request. Barr, 70, has proven to be very loyal to Trump and has also received praise from him regularly. However, earlier in the year, there was already tension between the two as Trump repeatedly commented on the ongoing legal proceedings via Twitter. At the time, the Justice Department rejected speculation about Barr’s alleged resignation plans.
