Bad signal for President Trump's legal battle

Once considered one of the highest-ranking Republicans and one of the president's most ardent defenders, William Barr's announcement dealt a major blow to the legal battle being waged by Donald Trump's team, led by Attorney Rudy Giuliani.

"Cold water" for Donald Trump

In an interview with the AP news agency, Attorney General William Barr stated that there was no evidence of large-scale election fraud that could change the results of the US presidential election on November 3. Earlier, on Sunday, Mr. Donald Trump criticized the US Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for being "missing" and "not taking action" toinvestigate election fraudthat Donald Trump's team accused. However, in the interview, Mr. William Barr once again affirmed that the review process of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice did not find any evidence to support these allegations.

Attorney General William Barr is the highest-ranking official to contradict Donald Trump's views on the election results. Photo: The Politico

The issues that Donald Trump's legal team pointed out, such as signature and postmark issues on mail-in ballots, a small number of misdirected and lost ballots, etc., are typical errors in past elections, but the number of errors is very small, not widespread fraud that could change the final election results. Previously, Mr. William Barr had made it clear that handling complaints related to election results should be done in the state system and not the responsibility of the Justice Department.

William Barr is the first senior Republican official to contradict President Donald Trump’s claims about the election results. His rebuttal is a real blow to the president, who has been considered one of the most fierce defenders of the president, blurring the line between the Justice Department and the White House.

In the past, the Justice Department under William Barr has released a report that is said to be favorable to Donald Trump after special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference, he also sided with the President when the US erupted in protests against racism, he also defended Donald Trump in the use of executive powers on a series of issues, including the ban on TikTok and WeChat from China.

Before the presidential election, William Barr himself supported Donald Trump's stance on allowing postal voting to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which could lead to mass fraud. Therefore,turning awayThe resignation of a high-ranking figure who has stood by him through the most difficult times is not only a "heavy blow" to President Donald Trump personally, but also poses a huge challenge to the legal campaign that Donald Trump's team is pursuing.

Shortly after the AP published William Barr's interview, he was seen arriving at the White House. Many speculated that, with statements that contradicted the President's views, he would be the next to leave in what could be the final days of the Donald Trump administration. Previously, Christopher Krebs, Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, had also experienced a similar situation, being fired by Donald Trump after declaring the 2020 election to be "the most secure election in American history."

However, analysts say that Donald Trump will not easily make the decision to fire William Barr because of his high position in the president's orbit and his reputation as a loyal cabinet official.

Senior adviser Rudy Giuliani travels to Michigan to work with the Election Commission on vote counting results. Photo: AP

The war continues

The US public has viewed the announcement by US Attorney General William Barr as a signal for the end of the legal campaign to overturn the election results that President Donald Trump's team is pursuing - a campaign that was considered very hopeful from the beginning. Not only that, Mr. William Barr's announcement has also sparked a new wave of criticism about President Donald Trump's refusal to accept defeat, viewing the efforts of President Donald Trump and his team as a fight to seize power.

However, the team of lawyers that Mr. Donald Trump assembled under the leadership of 2senior adviser Rudy Giulianiand Jenna Ellis are not so easy to accept defeat. After Mr. William Barr's statement, Giuliani and Jenna Ellis "counterattacked" that the Justice Department did not fully investigate allegations of election irregularities, did not interview witnesses - who accused of illegal behavior during the election process in at least 6 states. Mr. Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said they will continue to pursue lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia to change the election results in favor of Mr. Donald Trump.

In a recent move, yesterday, Mr. Rudy Giuliani went to Michigan to work with the state's legislative committee regarding the 2020 presidential election process in the state. Before the direct meeting, Mr. Giuliani sent a written petition to the committee. In addition, Mr. Donald Trump's team also spread "conspiracy theory" allegations about a vote-rigging software system developed in Venezuela and stored in Germany. This system penetrated the vote-counting software system and counted votes in favor of candidate Joe Biden. However, so far, the President's legal team has not provided any valuable evidence to prove the existence of this software system.

Can Donald Trump stay in the White House? Photo: Getty

According to analysts, in addition to filing lawsuits about election fraud in the battleground states, the President's legal team still has another way to put pressure on state legislatures not to certify the election results. In that case, the selection of electors will be decided by the State Delegation Convention, and then Mr. Donald Trump will have an advantage because the Republican Party currently holds a majority of the 50 delegates of the 50 states.

Senior adviser Rudy Giuliani once asserted that he would help the President overcome the “attack of the press” to “reclaim the stolen victory.” One ray of hope that still remains for Donald Trump’s legal campaign is the statement of the Justice Department spokesman that it will continue to investigate allegations of election fraud if the plaintiffs provide strong enough evidence.

There are just over 10 days left before the Electoral College meets on December 14 to determine who is the real winner of the US presidential election. And in that short time, Donald Trump and his team will be forced to "turn over the last cards" if they want to create an unprecedented outcome in US election history.