Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday told supporters in Pennsylvania not to vote for GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill McSwain.
McSwain, who in 2017 was nominated by Trump to be U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has said he was prevented from investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election by then-Attorney General William Barr.
"One person in Pennsylvania who I will not be endorsing is Bill McSwain for Governor," Trump said in a statement released under his Save America joint fundraising committee.
"He was the U.S. Attorney who did absolutely nothing on the massive Election Fraud that took place in Philadelphia and throughout the commonwealth. 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."
During a Politico interview in July, Barr denied giving McSwain orders not to investigate voting fraud allegations.
That did little to change Trump's feelings toward McSwain.
"Without free and fair Elections, we don't have a Country. Do not vote for Bill McSwain, a coward, who let our Country down," Trump said Tuesday. "He knew what was happening and let it go. It was there for the taking and he failed so badly. Many of the U.S. Attorneys were probably told not to do anything by Barr. Hence, our Country is going to hell.
"True the Vote's findings are determinative and Bill McSwain should be ashamed of himself, as should many Republican leaders who didn't act. They said Philadelphia and Detroit were two of the most corrupt places it the Country, with Georgia being one of the most corrupt states!"
Barr told Politico that McSwain, who was seeking Trump's endorsement, indicated he was trying to satisfy Trump without claiming actual fraud went unchallenged.
"It's very cutely written," Barr told Politico of a letter McSwain sent to Trump. "He said he was going to try to thread the needle … he said to me he didn't want to say anything that would advance the president's stolen election narrative, but by the same token he was going to try to thread the needle by saying some things that were literally, technically accurate."
A WHTM/Emerson College Polling/The Hill Pennsylvania primary survey last week showed former Rep. Lou Barletta (19.8%) with a slight lead over state Sen. Doug Mastriano (19.4%) in the GOP gubernatorial primary race. Businessman Dave White (11.6%) was third, followed by McSwain (7.9%).
via newsmax