Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Department of Justice didn't discover any evidence of fraud that coincided with President Donald Trump's claims of widespread voter fraud or reverse the presidential election outcome. Following this statement, the president and the nation's top law enforcement official had a contentious meeting inside the West Wing.
On Dec. 2, Barr contradicted Trump's effort to overturn the election results when he told The Associated Press that the country's Justice Department did not uncover any evidence of widespread voter fraud during their investigation. His remarks have caused Trump to erupt, according to people familiar with his reaction.
Trump remained mum when he was asked Thursday if he had confidence in Barr, telling the reporters to ask him that after several weeks. After pausing for a moment to answer the question asked by reporters in the Oval Office during a Medal of Freedom ceremony, Trump suggested that they should investigate all of Barr's fraud.
Aside from that, he reiterated his dubious claims of a rigged election and massive fraud, contrary to Barr and state officials who have repeatedly said there is no evidence to back the president's claims of widespread election fraud. Trump accused Barr and his own administration's Justice Department of not doing anything and not looking for fraud in the Georgia election.
He went on to say that Barr thought it was civil, while it is criminal activity. Trump, whose term is slated to end in less than seven weeks, did not answer another question regarding his timeline. An administrator and two people familiar with the matter told NBC News that Trump hasn't dropped the idea of firing Barr, but a sudden exit wasn't likely.
A spokesman tried to reverse the damage caused by Barr's statement hours after his interview with The Associated Press. The spokesman issued a statement claiming the Justice Department had not concluded its investigation on election fraud and has not said anything about not finding any evidence of widespread election fraud, CNN reported.
The Justice Department spokesperson said the department would look into all credible allegations of fraud as efficiently as possible. On Wednesday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said she did not know if Trump and Barr had a meeting when he was at the White House. While the meeting was contentious, the source said Trump did not scream at Barr.