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Sixteen U.S. assistant lawyers have challenged the Attorney General’s latest ruling.
Sixteen federal prosecutors asked by Justice Department officials to monitor the vote in last week’s presidential election sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr making it clear that they saw no evidence to support the claims that the vote counts were tainted by widespread fraud or another ballot. problems, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
In their letter, federal prosecutors – career assistant U.S. attorneys from more than a dozen states across the country – called on Barr to rescind a memorandum he sent earlier this week asking Department attorneys to Justice to launch electoral inquiries if they suspect irregularities, according to sources.
Department of Justice policy has long urged federal law enforcement officials to refrain from engaging in politically motivated investigative activities in the run-up to elections, and the new “policy shift was not based on fact, “federal prosecutors wrote to Barr in their letter, first reported by The Washington Post.
“We do not agree with [your] The argument that the impact of taking open investigative and prosecutorial action on the outcome of an election is greatly minimized after the voting is over but before certification, ”the letter told Barr, adding that Barr’s memorandum “pushes career prosecutors into partisan politics.”
The letter was signed by deputy U.S. attorneys in Arkansas, California, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
In recent days, President Donald Trump has alleged without evidence that if only legally cast ballots were counted, he would easily be declared the winner in last week’s election.
But in his memorandum to US attorneys’ offices earlier this week, Barr wrote that “[n]Nothing here should be taken as an indication that the Department has concluded that voting irregularities affected the outcome of an election.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice insisted that the line means that what federal prosecutors wrote to Barr “can obviously coexist” with Barr’s memorandum.
“In fact, that’s the whole problem,” the spokesperson said. “The memo empowers [U.S. attorneys] investigate substantial allegations of electoral fraud to determine whether such fraud occurred. “
Barr’s memorandum stated that “it is imperative that credible allegations be dealt with in a timely and effective manner,” but Barr said that “it is equally imperative that Ministry staff exercise caution and maintain commitment. absolute commitment of the Department towards fairness, neutrality and impartiality ”.
“While serious allegations should be treated with great care, specious, speculative, fanciful or far-fetched claims should not be a basis for launching federal investigations,” Barr added.
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