Former Attorney General Bill Barr made significant revelations in a recent interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, undermining a key defense pillar used by his former boss, Donald Trump, in the special counsel’s probe into 2020 election interference. Barr stated that Trump “knew well he lost the election” and described the former president’s alleged actions, as detailed in the indictment, as “nauseating” and “despicable.” He firmly rejected the argument that Trump’s statements were protected under the First Amendment, emphasizing that such protection does not shield someone from entering into a conspiracy.
The special counsel, Jack Smith, brought four charges against Trump, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, in connection with efforts to overturn the 2020 election, leading up to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Trump is expected to be arraigned in the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Thursday.
As the indictment says, they are not attacking his First Amendment right. He can say whatever he wants, he can even lie. He can even tell people that the election was stolen when he knew better,” Barr said. “But that does not protect you from entering into a conspiracy.”
He added: “At first I wasn’t sure, but I have come to believe he knew well he had lost the election.”
Barr’s statements are notable as he was a loyalist during much of his tenure as Trump’s attorney general. However, he publicly contradicted Trump’s claims of election fraud in December 2020 when he stated that the Justice Department had not found substantial evidence of widespread voter fraud. He resigned shortly after, becoming one of Trump’s significant critics.
Despite their past conflicts, Barr defended Special Counsel Jack Smith in the interview, asserting that Smith is an aggressive prosecutor but not a partisan actor. Barr suggested that there is more evidence to prove that Trump knew the election was not stolen, indicating that there is still much more to be revealed in the investigation.
