Barr dismisses claims of election interference, calls them ‘silly’.
In an interview on Fox News, former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr dismisses claims of “election interference” in the indictments against former president and presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“The idea that this is interfering with the election is simply wrong,” he tells host John Roberts.
Mr. Roberts had been referring to the multiple charges against President Trump this year for various actions he took during his presidency, and in particular the March 4, 2024 trial date set by a judge—just a day before “Super Tuesday.”
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He plays a clip of presidential candidate former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has been combative in his approach against the GOP frontrunner, saying in an interview with Mr. Roberts that the former president’s insistence on campaigning is interfering with the elections more than the indictments.
“I think the governor is right,” says Mr. Barr, who has clashed with his former boss over claims of election fraud. While President Trump maintains that fraud occurred in several states in 2020, possibly costing him reelection, Mr. Barr has been dismissive of those claims.
In the Fox interview, he argues there is no standing for the presidential candidate to seek to move his trial dates until past the 2024 elections.
“The basic principle in the criminal justice system is if a prominent person commits a crime and is seeking office, that doesn’t give them immunity,” he says.
“If there’s if there’s enough time to have it resolved before the election, it should be resolved.”
“Just think some mayor charged with massive embezzlement and he says, ‘Well, you know, it’s a year and a half to the election. Let’s put that on hold. While I run for reelection.’ It’s silly,” he says. “It’s silly.”
He adds that one could argue whether President Trump should be charged, but regardless, the charges are not interfering with the election.
Mr. Barr has previously also said he would “of course” be willing to testify against President Trump in the election case. In interviews on news networks, he has multiple times dismissed the legal arguments put forth by President Trump’s legal teams, claiming there is no First Amendment defense.
President Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly called the legal action against him “election interference,” noting that indictments and motions follow as he rises in the polls, or when investigations into the Biden family make headlines.
He slams the Fox interview on Truth Social, naming the host and two interviewees.
“Anyway, my polls are even higher since the so-called Debate. Republicans should unite against the Fascist Lunatics who are destroying our Country!” he writes.
Overlapping Trials?
The candidate faces a busy trial schedule as campaign season heats up.
In the Washington, D.C. case ahead of “Super Tuesday,” when more than a dozen states will hold their Republican primaries, President Trump is being charged on four conspiracy counts over his challenge of the 2020 election results in federal court.
He faces similar charges in state court in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is prosecuting a racketeering case that names President Trump along with 19 defendants. The prosecutor is pushing for an Oct. 23 trial date, which President Trump’s attorneys have argued against. This would be the earliest trial date any prosecutor has asked for yet, while the former president’s legal teams have consistently pushed for cases to be tried after the 2024 general election, sometimes citing plans for dismissal.
In New York, Manhattan Attorney General Alvin Bragg is prosecuting a case against President Trump over allegedly mishandling business finances, set to go to trial in May.
In Florida, special counsel Jack Smith, who is also prosecuting the Washington case, has a case against President Trump over allegedly mishandling classified documents, also set to go to trial in May.
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