The best book I’ve read on President Donald Trump and his administration was penned by former Trump Attorney General William P. Barr: “One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General.” Snippets of Barr’s testimony were featured during last night’s House hearings on Jan. 6.
Personally, I think the opening hearing fell flat because the committee only aired curated footage — the full testimony would have had more effect.
Barr voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020. Still, he wasn’t going to subvert the Justice Department to tilt the deck in Trump’s favor.
Indeed, Barr believes that Trump could have won re-election if only he had toned down his over-the-top rhetoric, but the 45th president lacked the self-discipline. More than one, he told his old boss, “There is only one man who can beat Donald Trump, and his name is Donald Trump.”
Barr deftly goes after the broad changes in election law to accommodate COVID:
“Allowing voters to cast ballots over a two-month period is like allowing each juror to vote at any time during a trial.”
But also Barr told Trump “I did think it was my role to look into credible allegations of fraud, and that we had looked into them. ‘The claims just aren’t panning out,’ I said.”
And: “The election was not ‘stolen.’ Trump lost it. He was repeatedly warned by his advisers — and the data showed it clearly — that a significant segment of voters who supported him in 2016 had grown tired of him.”
Good news: There’s been a big price drop in the Barr book if you buy it at WalMart.
Debra J. Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Contact her at dsaunders@discovery.org.
I have written about this in the past, as has Barr who has it right. Was there fraud? Sure, it happens in every election. But was there enough fraud to rob Trump of victory? Not even remotely.
I keep hearing people say no fraud took place in 2020. I would love to hear your thoughts on the 2000 Mules film, and how that video is then to be interpreted in a way that is perfectly innocent. I know you're a serious reporter. I'd love to read your thoughts. Sharyl Attkisson did a nice piece on it that's posted on her site.