Attorney General Bill Barr: No evidence of widespread voter fraud

Attorney General Bill Barr told the Associated Press today there is no evidence of widespread fraud that would change the election outcome. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi

President Donald Trump’s spokeswoman refused to say Wednesday whether Trump still has faith in Attorney General William Barr, a day after Barr said the Justice Department has not found evidence that widespread ballot fraud led to President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Barr’s statement badly undercut baseless allegations by Trump and his campaign legal team that the Republican president was swindled out of reelection by voting fraud.

“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,” Barr told the Associated Press in an interview Tuesday.

That interview sparked immediate speculation that Trump would fire Barr, who until Tuesday was seen as a staunchly loyal supporter of the president.

During a press conference Wednesday, a reporter asked White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, “Does [Trump] still have faith in Attorney General Bill Barr? Does he still have confidence in Bill Barr?”

McEnany did not directly answer that question.

“If we have any personnel announcements, I’ll let you know,” she replied.

That answer from Trump press secretaries in the past has sometimes been followed by the termination of the administration official being asked about.

McEnany said that she had not spoken to the president about the attorney general’s statement, after a reporter asked if Trump was upset by Barr’s comments.

The press secretary said she was unaware of whether Trump has spoken to the attorney general since the AP’s interview was published.

“I know the attorney general was here yesterday for a preplanned meeting with the chief of staff [Mark Meadows] and they discussed an array of issues but I’m not aware if the president has spoken to him directly,” McEnany said.

The Justice Department, which Barr leads, did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment on McEnany’s remarks.

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