Hours after President Trump made more claims of voter fraud and following the announcement that U.S. Attorney General William Barr will allow investigations into the alleged voter fraud, the man responsible for the Election Crimes Branch of the Justice Department, Richard Pilger, resigned. In a letter obtained by NBC News, Pilger stated: “Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications, and in accord with the best tradition of the John C. Keeney Award for Exceptional Integrity and Professionalism (my most cherished Departmental recognition), I must regretfully resign from my role as Director of the Election Crimes Branch.”
In a memo to prosecutors on Monday, A.G. Barr authorized them to investigate “substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities prior to the certification of elections.” He asserted that although previous policy was to wait until ballots had been counted, certified and the election concluded, “such a passive and delayed enforcement approach can result in situations in which election misconduct cannot realistically be rectified.”
NPR is reporting that “the memo marked a step into President Trump’s disinformation campaign about voting. Former DOJ officials criticized the memo as partisan and as validating Trump’s claims that there are substantial voter irregularities. Republican and Democratic election officials agree there has been no evidence of widespread, even low-level, voting irregularities.”
During a press conference held by President Trump’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, multiple television networks decided to cut away as she made accusations at the Biden campaign regarding illegal voting measures. So much so, in a clip obtained from the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), Fox News Correspondent Neil Cavuto stated, “Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing this.“
The New York Times says they “contacted the offices of the top election officials in every state on Monday and Tuesday to ask whether they suspected or had evidence of illegal voting. Officials in 45 states responded directly to The Times. For four of the remaining states, The Times spoke to other statewide officials or found public comments from secretaries of state; none reported any major voting issues.”
Richard Pilger had served in his post for a decade, and will continue on in the Justice Department in a different capacity.
