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Richard Pilger, director of the electoral crimes branch in the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section, told colleagues in an email that the attorney general was issuing “a major new policy repealing the 40-year-old Non-Interference Policy. for investigations of electoral fraud in the period prior to the certified and unopposed elections. ” Pilger also sent the memo to colleagues in his resignation letter.
Pilger will remain a prosecutor in the Justice unit that investigates public corruption.
Barr did not provide any indication that the Justice Department presented evidence to support Trump’s claim of massive fraud in last week’s election.
In his memo, Barr notes that while “most allegations of alleged electoral misconduct are of such magnitude that they would not affect the outcome of an election and therefore the investigation can be appropriately postponed, that is not always the case. “.
“Additionally, any concerns that open actions taken by the Department may inadvertently impact an election is greatly minimized, if any, after voting is concluded, even if the certification of the election has not yet been completed.” wrote.
The attorney general has previously supported Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud, and this latest move comes during an incredibly tense time and could inflame an already tense transition. President-elect Joe Biden is beginning his transition to office as Trump and his administration refuse to acknowledge the former vice president’s victory, making unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud and illegal votes that threaten to undermine the foundations of the US government.
Barr’s letter to criminal prosecutors broke a days-long silence that has been uncomfortable as Trump and his campaign attorneys have held press conferences and filed lawsuits that have had no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump claims the voting irregularities explain why he is behind in the states he would need to win reelection and has refused to admit defeat to President-elect Joe Biden.
The memo came after weeks of internal discussions between justice officials, during which top officials told Barr that changing the policy on fraud investigations would be a bad idea, according to a person briefed on the discussions. Barr issued the memo on Monday to the surprise of senior officials, including Pilger, the person briefed on the matter said.
A Justice official said no one asked or ordered Barr to issue his memo.
The purpose of the memorandum is unclear, as prosecutors already know their responsibilities to investigate voter fraud and other irregularities. But it could serve to give the president some indication that Barr and the Justice Department are working to find the evidence that Trump and his campaign have so far failed to produce.
Barr told prosecutors in his memorandum on Monday: “I authorize you to file substantial allegations of voting irregularities and vote tabulation prior to the certification of elections in your jurisdictions in certain cases, as I have already done in specific cases. “.
“While serious allegations of voter fraud should be handled with great care, misleading, speculative, fanciful or implausible claims should not be a basis for initiating federal investigations,” Barr wrote.
Barr has been described by some Justice officials as obsessed with the idea of voter fraud in recent weeks. He has repeatedly asked about efforts by prosecutors to look for signs of fraud, Justice officials say. He also inquired about the possibility of sending federal officials to polling stations, although he was informed that federal law prohibits sending armed federal officials to guard the polls.
Pilger has been a career prosecutor against corruption for 17 years. Conservative critics attacked him during the Obama administration for having meetings with Lois Lerner, an IRS official who scrutinized the Tea Party and other conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. But he’s also one of the career prosecutors who last year helped determine that Trump did not violate campaign finance law when he lobbied the Ukrainian president in a 2019 phone call to investigate then-candidate Biden, sources informed about him said. affair.
This story and its headline have been updated with additional developments.
