DOJ watchdog finds Bill Barr violated department's policy during 2020 election

The Department of Justice's Inspector General's office on Thursday found that former Attorney General Bill Barr violated the department's policy by openly discussing an investigation and allegedly misleading the public.

Barr, who most recently served as the attorney general during former President Donald Trump's administration, encouraged Pennsylvania prosecutor David Freed to make statements about election security in the 2020 election. The statements included comments about mail-in ballots that were found discarded in a Pennsylvania county.

The statements included "selective details" about the investigation, according to the 82-page report, which misled the public and violated department policy. But the department's Inspector General Michael Horowitz did not formally accuse Barr or Freed of misconduct.

“Nearly every DOJ lawyer we interviewed — both career employees and Trump administration political appointees — emphasized how ‘unusual’ it would be for the department to issue a public statement containing details about an ongoing criminal investigation, particularly before any charges are filed,” the report said, per The Hill.

Freed, who is also a U.S Attorney, had revealed that the discarded ballots all contained votes for Trump, and Barr shared that information with Trump while he was president. However, Barr's decision to share the information with Trump was not in conflict with department policy, despite Trump talking about the information to the press.

The report recommended that the Office of Special Counsel investigate Barr and Freed for potential Hatch Act violations, and encouraged the DOJ to re-write its policies on sharing information with the White House to avoid any further incidents.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.