Bill Barr stated he would investigate election cases ahead of the 2020 election.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 4 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 40%
Deadline: White HouseOct 20, 2026
The sources cover Barr's September 2, 2020 CNN interview, but none states that he said he would investigate election cases ahead of the 2020 election. The transcript shows him discussing the Durham probe and saying he would "handle these cases as appropriate," which does not clearly match the claim, so the sources neither confirm nor refute it.
What was said
… Well, what's bananas is, do you know who really tried to, um, let me just quote this fella accurately, uh, hunt down and prosecute? Ya, Bill Barr tried to hunt down, and he went on CNN before the 2020 election, and and he didn't have quite the, you know, zest for what he was saying, but he basically said he was gonna investigate election cases ahead of the 2020 election. And all the people that work for Donald Trump and all of the Republicans who supported Donald Trump certainly would have been on the lookout and would have pursued investigations into anyone that committed illegal voting. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Context. The CNN transcript of the September 2, 2020 interview has Barr discussing the Durham investigation and saying "I will handle these cases as appropriate," but it does not show him promising to investigate election cases.[3]
Context. AP and ABC coverage of the same CNN interview focuses on Barr's claims about mail-in voting fraud and the Texas case, and does not mention any pledge to investigate election cases.[1][4]
Context. Barr's later memo authorizing federal prosecutors to pursue election irregularity allegations came in November 2020, after the election, so it does not show what he said before the election.[2]
Sources
4 sources: 1 fact-checker, 1 tier 2, 2 not rated
- 1AP FACT CHECK: Barr raises voter fraud specter, China threatapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Barr Permits Investigation Of Trump's Voter Fraud Claims - NPRnpr.org · tier 2 · cited for: context
- 3CNN.com - Transcriptstranscripts.cnn.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 4Barr gives false recounting of Texas voter fraud case in ...abcnews.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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