Attorney General William Barr has authorized U.S. attorneys to pursue “substantial allegations” of voting irregularities during the 2020 elections, contradicting longstanding Justice Department practice of not taking steps that could impact the results of an election.
“Such inquiries and reviews may be conducted if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State,” Barr said in a memo to federal prosecutors Monday.
Though President Donald Trump and his campaign have repeatedly claimed there has been fraud, there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. In fact, election officials from both political parties have publicly stated the election went well, though there have been minor issues that are typical in elections, including voting machines breaking and ballots that were miscast and lost.
Barr noted in his memo that the Justice Department has not concluded that “voting irregularities have impacted the outcome of any election.”
– Some GOP donors aren’t keen to help Trump with election lawsuits
President Donald Trump’s campaign is aggressively seeking donations to pay for lawsuits and recounts in a handful of states where Democrat Joe Biden won, but some GOP donors are already moving on to other fights.
An abandonment of institutional Republican donors for Trump’s legal cause would leave the campaign in a tough spot as it vows to launch a series of legal battles in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and elsewhere – a multifront effort that would almost certainly require the party to shell out tens of millions of dollars in legal fees.
– Biden and Trudeau discuss COVID
President-elect Joe Biden spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday afternoon, where the two discussed racial justice and working to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a readout from the Biden transition team, the two discussed an array of issues, including combating climate change and collaborating on strengthening NATO. Biden “indicated that he looks forward to working closely” with Trudeau on these issues.
This is the first read out the Biden transition has released of the president-elect speaking with a global leader. On Saturday, Trudeau was quick to congratulate Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris after being projected as the winners of the election.
“I just spoke with @JoeBiden, and congratulated him again on his election. We’ve worked with each other before, and we’re ready to pick up on that work and tackle the challenges and opportunities facing our two countries – including climate change and COVID-19,” Trudeau wrote in a tweet.
