Former President Donald Trump has released a letter from an ex federal prosecutor in Pennsylvania stating that he disagreed with former Attorney General William Barr on how to deal with allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities, the Washington Examiner has reported.
William McSwain, who was U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 2018 until January 2021, wrote to Trump expressing his disapproval of instructions he said he received from Barr.
"On Election Day and afterwards, our Office received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities," the letter said. "As part of my responsibilities as U.S. Attorney, I wanted to be transparent with the public and, of course, investigate fully any allegations. Attorney General Barr, however, instructed me not to make any public statements or put out any press releases regarding possible election irregularities. I was also given a directive to pass along serious allegations to the State Attorney General for investigation - the same State Attorney General who had already declared that you could not win."
McSwain was referring to Democrat Josh Shapiro, then-Attorney General of Pennsylvania, who said at the time that the state found "absolutely no evidence" of what Trump claimed was widespread "voter fraud," Sputnik reported. Days before the November election, Shapiro tweeted that "Trump is going to lose."
McSwain wrote that he "disagreed with that decision" by Barr, but said he had been a Marine infantry office and knew he had to follow orders from his superior even if he did not believe them to be correct.
In the letter, McSwain also said he is going to run for Pennsylvania governor next year and sought Trump’s support, according to Sputnik.
McSwain detailed the electoral reforms he would back in the state if elected, especially outlining his commitment to protect "the right of all Pennsylvania citizens to cast a legitimate vote"
As he released the letter, which he mentioned during his speech at CPAC in Texas over the weekend, Trump said in a statement of his own that "U.S. Attorney from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was precluded from investigating election fraud allegations. Outrageous!"
Barr sent out a memo in November authorizing U.S. attorneys to probe "substantial allegations" of voting irregularities before the certification of elections and later stated publicly that the Justice Department did not find fraud sufficient to change the outcome of the election, the Washington Examiner reported.
The Republican-led state Senate in Pennsylvania is attempting to carry out an Arizona-style "forensic investigation," but Pennsylvania's Department of State has warned that any election equipment given to "third-party entities" will be decertified.