Top Insider Speaks Out: DOJ Investigations of the 2020 Presidential Election Under Former AG Barr Were a Lackluster Kabuki Dance

Summary

On November 9, 2020 (six days after the last presidential election), former Attorney General William Barr directed some of his key subordinates to investigate election irregularities, freeing them up to do so by overruling a prior internal Department of Justice (“DOJ”) policy that ordinarily pushed out such investigations until only after the relevant election had ended, been certified, and all election contests in court had finished. See Attorney General, Memorandum for United States Attorneys, The Assistant Attorneys General for the Criminal Division, Civil Rights Division, National Security Division, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (Nov. 9, 2020).

The November 9 Memo ignited a media firestorm.  See, e.g., Matt Zapotofsky & Devlin Barrett, Barr Clears Justice Dept. to Investigate Alleged Voting Irregularities as Trump Makes Unfounded Fraud Claims, Washington Post (Nov. 9, 2020); Kevin Johnson & Kristine Phillips, Attorney General William Barr’s Election Fraud Memo Brings New Storm to Justice Department, USA Today (Nov. 10, 2020). Indeed, a senior career manager at DOJ resigned in protest of the November 9 Memo. See Bill Chappell, Head Of DOJ’s Election Crimes Unit Steps Down After Barr OKs Election Inquiries, NPR (Nov. 10, 2020) (“Richard Pilger resigned as head of the Justice Department’s election crimes branch Monday night, protesting Attorney General William Barr’s memo authorizing federal prosecutors to pursue allegations of voting irregularities.”). Pilger had edited the 2017 edition of DOJ’s approach to federal election crimes. See Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses (8th ed. Dec. 2017).

Then, on December 1, 2020, news emerged of an exclusive interview AG Barr had given to a single chosen reporter at the Associated Press. “The scoop, which was published on Dec. 1, 2020, quoted Barr as saying that the U.S. Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the 2020 election.” David Bauder, The Story Behind the AP Report That Caused Trump to Throw Lunch, AP (June 28, 2022).

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