Former President Donald Trump announced he will not support Bill McSwain, a Republican candidate in Pennsylvania‘s gubernatorial election, citing supposed fraud in the 2020 election.
McSwain, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, refused to crack down on widespread fraud and irregularities that allegedly occurred during the last presidential contest, Trump blared in his anti-endorsement statement on Tuesday.
“He was the U.S. Attorney who did absolutely nothing on the massive Election Fraud that took place in Philadelphia and throughout the commonwealth,” Trump said in the statement.
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Trump referenced a letter that McSwain sent to him expressing his concern with instructions he had received from then-Attorney General William Barr. “He said Barr told him not to do anything (because Barr was afraid of being impeached by the Democrats), but he should have done his job anyway,” Trump said.
McSwain wrote to Trump that his office had “received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities” and that he wanted to investigate any claims and be as transparent as possible. But Barr instructed McSwain not to release any public statements or press releases and to send allegations of voter fraud to the state attorney general, who had “already declared that you could not win,” the letter said. McSwain wrote that he “disagreed with that decision” but noted he had been a Marine infantry officer, so he would follow orders from his superior, even if he did not agree with them.
Barr told the Washington Post that “any suggestion that McSwain was told to stand down from investigating allegations of election fraud is false. It’s just false.”
Trump lost the state of Pennsylvania to President Joe Biden by more than 1 percentage point. To this day, the former president claims the state was stolen from him, although election officials and the courts have roundly rejected claims of widespread fraud.
“Without free and fair Elections, we don’t have a Country,” Trump said in his statement. “Do not vote for Bill McSwain, a coward, who let our Country down. He knew what was happening and let it go. It was there for the taking and he failed so badly.”
Inbox: Trump gives an anti-endorsement to former federal prosecutor Bill McSwain. McSwain “should be ashamed of himself, as should many Republican leaders who didn’t act” to overturn the election. pic.twitter.com/OYhbMCrzAR
— Stephen Caruso (@StephenJ_Caruso) April 12, 2022
“Many of the U.S. Attorneys were probably told not to do anything by Barr. Hence, our Country is going to hell,” Trump said.
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Trump’s statement comes days after he issued a surprise endorsement of celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is fighting for the Republican nomination to replace retiring Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey.
Trump has not endorsed anyone in the state’s gubernatorial election. However, recent polls show that Lou Barletta, a former congressman and mayor of Hazleton, leads the pack by a few points. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro is running in the Democratic primary in the gubernatorial race.
