AG Barr has no plans to appoint special counsels to investigate Hunter Biden or election fraud
Outgoing U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Photo from Wikimedia Commons.
Outgoing U.S. Attorney General William Barr said at a news conference Monday he had no plans to appoint special counsels to investigate election fraud or Hunter Biden, the son of President-elect Joe Biden.
Barr said he saw no reason to appoint special counsels in either case before he leaves office Dec. 23, report the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Associated Press.
According to the New York Times, Barr’s comments are once again “undercutting [President Donald] Trump’s efforts to bend the department to his political will and to overturn the results of the election.”
On the subject of election fraud, Barr said he saw “no basis now for seizing machines by the federal government,” and he had no plans to appoint a special counsel.
“If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and was appropriate, I would name one, but I haven’t, and I’m not going to,” Barr said.
Barr said he was sure that election fraud existed, but he hasn’t seen any evidence that it is extensive enough to change election results. Barr previously made a similar statement to the Associated Press.
On the subject of Hunter Biden, Barr said that, at this point, “I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel, and I have no plan to do so before I leave.”
Hunter Biden has previously revealed that his tax affairs are under investigation.
“To the extent that there is an investigation,” Barr said Monday, “I think that it’s being handled responsibly and professionally.”
The Department of Justice official who will replace Barr on an acting basis, Jeffrey A. Rosen, declined to tell Reuters whether he would name special counsels for Hunter Biden or election fraud. Rosen has no prior experience as a prosecutor.
Rosen, currently the U.S. deputy attorney general, told Reuters that he would continue “to do things on the merits and to do things on the basis of the law and the facts.”
Rosen was not at the press conference Monday, according to the Washington Post.
