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The head of the Justice Department’s branch that prosecutes election crimes on Monday resigned hours after Attorney General William Barr issued a note to federal prosecutors to investigate “specific allegations” of election fraud before the results of the presidential race will not be certified.
Richard Pilger, who was director of the DOJ’s Election Crimes Branch, sent a note to his colleagues suggesting his resignation was linked to Barr’s note, which was released as the president’s legal team mounted legal challenges baseless election results, alleging a broad voter fraud cost him the race.
“Having learned about the new policy and its ramifications, and in keeping with the best tradition of the John C. Keeney Award for Exceptional Integrity and Professionalism (my dearest ministerial recognition), I regret to resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch, ”Pilger’s letter read, according to a copy obtained by NBC News.
“I have enjoyed working with you for over a decade to aggressively and diligently enforce federal criminal law, election policy and practice without partisan fear or favor. Thank you for your support in this effort. “
Barr issued a memo on Monday authorizing prosecutors “to pursue substantive allegations of voting irregularities and vote tabulation prior to the certification of elections.”
This is a policy change from the Department of Justice, which previously informed prosecutors that “overt investigative steps should normally not be taken until the election in question is over, its results certified and all recounts and electoral contests over “.
Barr, who has been criticized by right-wing media for failing to support the president’s unproven allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, said those guidelines were outdated.
“Such a passive and delayed approach to law enforcement can lead to situations in which electoral misconduct cannot be realistically corrected,” Barr said in the memo.
NBC News and several other major media outlets projected Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election on Saturday after several states spent days counting ballots following record turnout, including voting by correspondence and by correspondence. Trump has refused to give in to President-elect Biden, and one of his appointed members in the General Service administration has yet to sign documents to begin the presidential transition.
Barr was not invited or ordered by the president, any lawmaker or anyone in the White House to release this memo to federal prosecutors, according to a senior Justice Department official. Barr, however, met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Earlier Monday. McConnell defended the president earlier Monday in the Senate, saying he had the right to pursue recounts and lawsuits in court.
Barr did not respond to questions when he left McConnell’s office and a DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on what the two men discussed.
A DOJ official told NBC News that Barr’s memo does not allege that there are substantial irregularities in the election. It allows local US lawyers to investigate if they learn of “clear and apparently credible allegations of irregularities which, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in any given state.”
He added: “While serious allegations are to be treated with great care, specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched allegations should not be used as the basis for opening federal investigations. Nothing here should be taken as an indication that the Department found voting irregularities had an impact on the outcome of any election. “
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