Fact-checking Attorney General William Barr’s claims on voter fraud, election interference and Jacob Blake
By Daniel Dale, Tara Subramaniam and Holmes Lybrand, CNN
Updated 2:45 PM ET, Thu September 3, 2020
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Washington (CNN)Attorney General William Barr made a series of false and misleading claims in a contentious interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday.
Barr also made additional claims that have not been proven or were lacking in context. Here are fact checks of some of his remarks.
CNN holds elected officials and candidates accountable by pointing out what’s true and what’s not.
Here’s a look at our recent fact checks.
Russian interference in the 2020 election
Blitzer noted that the intelligence community’s top elections official said that Russia is working to help President Donald Trump get elected, while both China and Iran prefer Democratic opponent Joe Biden to win. Blitzer asked Barr: “First of all, do you accept that Russia is once again interfering in the U.S. presidential election?”
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Barr said, “I accept that there is some preliminary activity that suggests that they might try again.”
Facts First: The intelligence official, William R. Evanina, said that Russian interference is happening now, not that Russia “might” try to interfere. In an August statement, Evanina said, “We assess that Russia is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden and what it sees as an anti-Russia ‘establishment.'”
Barr went on to tell Blitzer that he was talking about two kinds of Russian activities: hacking emails to disclose embarrassing documents, and the use of social media. Evanina’s August statement said that Russian social media influence efforts were already underway: “Some Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media and Russian television.”
On Wednesday, ABC News reported that in July, the Department of Homeland Security withheld an intelligence bulletin warning of a Russian plot to spread misinformation regarding Biden’s mental health.
Mail voting and fraud
Barr said, “Elections that have been held with mail have found substantial fraud and coercion.”
Facts First: This is such an over-generalization, we can call it false: all evidence shows that fraud in mail voting is extremely rare. While a 2020 city council race in New Jersey and a 2018 congressional race in North Carolina were allegedly marred by substantial fraud involving mail ballots, such cases are highly uncommon. Jurisdictions that have long conducted elections primarily by mail, such as the reliably Republican state of Utah, have done so without significant incident.
Foreign countries and interference with mail voting
Blitzer asked Barr what is the basis for his claims that foreign countries could make a large number of fake ballots and send them in without detection, Barr said, “I’m basing that on logic.”
Facts First: Experts on voting say Barr’s “logic” is wrong. They say it would be extraordinarily difficult for a foreign country, or anyone else, to succeed with a counterfeit ballot scheme.
“Mail-in ballots are very hard to duplicate on the fly. Each jurisdiction has their own ballot format, form of paper, and races differ for voters by their respective districts,” Rick Hasen, a University of California professor of law and political science and a prominent expert on election law, wrote on Twitter.
“Ballot envelopes also often contain coding that helps election officials track them. Ballot forms must contain certain information that must be verified, like a signature, identification information, and sometimes witness requirements. These would all have to be faked, and done in a way to escape attention.”
“Of all the ridiculous schemes that have been floated by the President or AG (William) Barr for how mail-in ballot fraud could affect the election, the possibility of a foreign entity swaying election by mailing fraudulent absentee ballots is the most ludicrous,” said Hasen.
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You can read about the rest of Barr’s lies, distortions, and evasions at the link.
Let’s see, an unethical, race-baiting, congenital liar, & established Trump toady as the head of the Justice Department! What could go wrong?
Trump has everyone living in a parallel universe where, as Rudy would say, “truth isn’t truth” and “alternative facts” (a/k/a outright lies) rule!
PWS
09-03-20