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Nov. 6, 2020 Letter to Attorney General Bill Barr

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On Nov. 6, 2020, a group of 39 House Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr about alleged procedural irregularities during the 2020 presidential election and demanding that the Justice Department investigate the claims.

The short letter opened with the argument that “while each state runs its own election process, the United States Department of Justice is ultimately responsible for the integrity of federal elections.” It goes on to insist that “with widespread reports of irregularities, particularly in the vote counting process, it is time for you to use the resources of the Department to ensure that the process is conducted in a manner that is fully consistent with state and federal law. And, it is also important that the process be completely transparent, so that the American people will have full confidence in the result.”

The following representatives signed the letter:

The Big Lie

  • Without providing any evidence, the letter asserted the existence of “widespread reports of irregularities, particularly in the vote counting process.”
  • After stating that the U.S. Marshall’s Service can be used to assist in a voter fraud investigation, the letter prods Barr by asking: “What are you doing to ensure the integrity of the voting and counting process right now? Will you commit to using all the resources at your disposal to ensure that only legal votes are being counted and being counted in a fully transparent and manner immediately?”
  • In response to the letter and mounting pressure from the White House, Barr went against longstanding Justice Department policy by issuing a memo to U.S. attorneys across the country allowing them to pursue any “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 presidential election was certified. He did so despite lacking evidence of “widespread fraud.” 
  • On Dec. 1, 2020, Barr revealed in an AP interview that “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.” Two weeks later he was forced to resign, joining every other member of the administration who was unwilling to support the Big Lie.