Former President Donald Trump attacked his former attorney general, Bill Barr, as “pathetic” and a “swamp creature” Tuesday after Barr called Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of 2020 election fraud “bullshit.”
Barr told Atlantic journalist Jonathan Karl that he had always suspected Trump’s claims of election fraud in the wake of November 3 were “bullshit” Sunday. Barr’s relationship with Trump deteriorated soon after Election Day, but Trump now claims he lost confidence in Barr long beforehand. (RELATED: Trump Campaign Sues Pennsylvania In Hopes State Will Just Declare Him Winner)
“Jonathan Karl’s story on Slow Moving Bill Barr is made-up beyond any level imaginable,” Trump said in a Tuesday statement. “I lost confidence in Bill Barr long before the 2020 Presidential Election Scam. It was when he dismissed and didn’t act on the very powerful Horowitz Report, and instead gave everything over to John Durham, who has seemingly disappeared from the planet.”
Trump went on to criticize Barr personally, calling him a RINO and a “swamp creature.” (RELATED: Trump’s Top Lawyer In Wisconsin Is Arguing His Own Vote Was Illegal)
“Barr was a ‘swamp creature’ who was devastated when the Radical Left wanted to impeach him,” he continued. “Despite evidence of tremendous Election Fraud, he just didn’t want to go there. He was afraid, weak, and frankly, now that I see what he is saying, pathetic.”
WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Attorney General William Barr arrive together for the presentation of the Public Safety Officer Medals of Valor in the East Room of the White House May 22, 2019 in Washington, DC. Comparable to the military’s Medal of Honor, the Medal of Valor was established in 2000 by President Bill Clinton. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Trump’s claims of election fraud remain almost totally unsubstantiated, with courts across the country throwing out dozens of lawsuits in the months since Election Day.
“My attitude was: It was put-up or shut-up time,” Barr told The Atlantic. “If there was evidence of fraud, I had no motive to suppress it. But my suspicion all the way along was that there was nothing there. It was all bullshit.”
Prior to the election, Barr had been one of the most prominent voices warning of the dangers of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Specifically, Barr warned that universal mail-in balloting had never been tried and could pose great risk. Ultimately, only nine states and the District of Columbia used universal mail-in balloting and only one of those states, Nevada, faced contention from the Trump campaign regarding its result. The lawsuit failed in court, however.
The Atlantic article centered on a December 2020 meeting between Trump and Barr at the White House shortly after Barr had told The Associated Press (AP) that the FBI and other organizations hadn’t uncovered any evidence of fraud that could have overturned the result of the election.
“Did you say that?” Trump reportedly asked Barr regarding the AP report.
“Yes,” Barr responded.
“How the f-ck could you do this to me? Why did you say it?” Trump reportedly responded.
“Because it’s true,” Barr responded.
“You must hate Trump. You must hate Trump,” Trump said, according to the report.