Amid pressures from Republican voters and President Trump, Attorney General William Barr has resigned. In a letter to the President, AG Barr stated “I will spend the next week wrapping up a few matters important to the Administration and depart on December 23rd.” President Trump released the full resignation letter through his Twitter account:
…Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all! pic.twitter.com/V5sqOJT9PM
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020
In AG Barr’s letter to President Trump, he said “I am proud to have played a role in the many successes and unprecedented achievements you have delivered for the American people.”
His resignation comes after weeks of dissenting opinions about the job he has done as Attorney General recently. Many Republicans believe that he should have released the information that Hunter Biden was being investigated by the FBI before the election, for which he waited until after. Many also believe that the DOJ should be investigating the wide-ranging 2020 voter fraud allegations more vigorously and do not believe they are doing enough.
According to his resignation letter, AG Barr submitted his “Department’s review of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election and how these allegations continue to be pursued.” The letter goes on to say that it is imperative that the government “do all we can to assure the integrity of elections and promote public confidence in their outcome.”
At a time when faith in the integrity of our elections is historically low, these allegations must be fully investigated. In fact, a recent Gallup poll done earlier this year found that 59% of Americans were not confident in the honesty of U.S. elections. When compared to a poll from 2019 done across the globe, election confidence is only worse in Chile and Mexico.
It is clear that a majority of Americans do not feel that their votes are handled correctly, even before the 2020 election. In order to restore faith, the entire U.S. government has an obligation to investigate these voter fraud claims. Whether or not their preferred candidate benefitted from it is irrelevant.
AG Barr’s letter offered nothing but respect to President Trump’s accomplishments during his first term especially with the “frenzied and baseless accusations of collusion with Russia”. Even stating that “Few could have weathered these attacks, much less forge ahead with a positive program for the country.”
President Trump’s tweet went on to say that after Attorney General Barr’s departure, Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen will take his place and Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General.