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Barr says DOJ has not seen evidence of fraud that would change election results

01 December 2020
Dan Ackermann

Attorney General Bill Barr told the AP on Tuesday that the Department of Justice has not uncovered evidence of widespread voting fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Why it matters: It's a direct repudiation of President Trump's baseless claims of a "rigged" election from one of the most loyal members of his Cabinet.

  • The president's campaign and his allies have spent the past four weeks filing dozens of failed lawsuits and promoting conspiratorial allegations of widespread fraud.
  • Barr's comments are sure to prompt fury from the president, who has lashed out at other Republican officials who have contradicted his baseless election claims.

What they're saying: "To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election," Barr told the AP.

  • "There's been one assertion that would be systemic fraud and that would be the claim that machines were programmed essentially to skew the election results. And the DHS and DOJ have looked into that, and so far, we haven't seen anything to substantiate that," he added.

Between the lines: Earlier this month, Barr authorized U.S. attorneys to conduct investigations into alleged voter fraud if there are "clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities" that could change the outcome of a federal election in a particular state.

  • He told the AP that the FBI and prosecutors continuing to follow up on specific complaints, but have not seen any evidence yet that would overturn the results of the election.

This story is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.