Former US Attorney William McSwain dropped a bombshell about Pennsylvania‘s vote fraud during the 2020 election and announced his plan to run for governor in a newly released letter to President Donald Trump.
McSwain, who was federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania during the prior administration, said former Attorney General William Barr ordered him not to go public about serious vote-fraud investigations.
“On Election Day and afterwards, our Office received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities,” McSwain said.
“As part of my responsibilities as U.S. Attorney, I wanted to be transparent with the public and, of course, investigate fully any allegations,” he continued. “Attorney General Barr, however, instructed me not to make any public statements or put out any press releases regarding possible election irregularities.”
Barr’s motives have come under new scrutiny after ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl released excerpts from a book in which the two-time top lawman appeared to admit that he had maintained a somewhat passive approach to pursuing fraud allegations, despite Democrats’ unprecedented efforts to manipulate the outcome using mail-in voting.
“Barr told me he had already concluded that it was highly unlikely that evidence existed that would tip the scales in the election,” Karl wrote. “He had expected Trump to lose and therefore was not surprised by the outcome.”
McSwain said he was ordered, instead, to re-direct potential cases to state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, even though Shapiro had been deeply involved in partisan operations and had gone public with anti-Trump statements in the lead-up to the election.
“Shapiro—the very person responsible for the enforcement of state election law—declared days before Election Day that you could not win the election,” McSwain wrote to Trump.
“It would be hard to imagine a more irresponsible statement by a law enforcement officer, especially during a hotly contested election,” he added. “In light of such statements, it is hardly surprising that many Pennsylvanians lack faith in our state’s election results.”
McSwain also used the letter to announce his plan to run against Shapiro in next year’s gubernatorial election.
“Based on my background and experience, I am uniquely positioned to defeat Mr. Shapiro (the likely Democratic candidate) and would welcome the chance to discuss this with you in person. I would be honored to have your support,” he told Trump.
“Once elected Governor, one of my first priorities would be to modernize Pennsylvania’s election process and protect the right of all Pennsylvania citizens to cast a legitimate vote,” he said, before outlining several election-integrity measures he would seek to implement.
McSwain’s letter also comes as one Pennsylvania state senator is waging a legal battle against Shapiro—and dozens of high-powered Democrat lawyers—to proceed with audits in at least three Pennsylvania counties that would be similar to one conducted recently in Arizona’s Maricopa County.
Among the regions that state Sen. Doug Mastriano is subpoenaing is Philadelphia, where McSwain uncovered at least one major vote-fraud conspiracy prior to last year’s election and several others have been reported.
Shapiro responded to the subpoena announcement by issuing a directive that prohibited local officials from cooperating with the state legislature and threatened to punish those who complied by refusing to reimburse them for the costs of replacing election equipment.
Mastriano scoffed at the threats, issuing a new press release Monday to reiterate his plans to move forward.
Despite attempts of obstruction by the Wolf Administration and the Attorney General, the Intergovernmental Operations Committee will press forward in the pursuit of a forensic investigation: https://t.co/j5ykNkL6Zw pic.twitter.com/I6gtWcxQ3Q
— Senator Doug Mastriano (@SenMastriano) July 12, 2021
He also called on for a meeting with President Joe Biden, who was making an emergency trip to Philly on Tuesday in an apparent effort to intervene in the audit.
“Those who think there was no voter fraud, no irregularities and that the elections were conducted perfectly will have the chance to be vindicated,” Mastriano wrote in a letter to Biden.
Trump issued a statement in response to Biden’s planned visit, hammering the desperate move to cover up the fraud orchestrated by Shapiro and other state Democrats.
“Philadelphia was a cesspool of corruption, which will soon be revealed by the audit,” Trump said. “Why are they so concerned that a President, who never goes anywhere, would hop onto beautiful Air Force One and head to Philadelphia if it were an honest election?”
