A preview of a “Nightly News” interview with former Attorney General William Barr aired on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” Thursday morning. During that preview, Barr discussed his interaction with then-President Donald Trump in the moments leading up to his 2020 resignation.
Mitchell said, “Former Trump Attorney General, William Barr, who came under fire for intervening in criminal cases in ways favorable to his boss, is for the first time talking about what happened inside the Trump White House and what led him to resign. In December 2020, despite trump’s baseless claim, Barr told the president that The Justice Department uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the election. In the first television interview, since stepping down as head of The Justice Department, Barr tells NBC’s ‘Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt what happened when he submitted his resignation.”
Barr said, “I told him that all this stuff was bullsh*t about election fraud. And, you know, it was wrong to be shoveling it out the way his team was. And he started asking me about different theories. And I had the answers. I was able to tell him, ‘This is wrong because of this.’”
Holt said, “You’re trying to set him straight?”
Barr said, “Yes, and he listened. He was obviously getting very angry about this. I said, ‘Look, I understand you’re upset with me. And I’m perfectly happy to tender my resignation,’ and then boom.”
Holt said, “He slaps the desk.”
Barr said, “He slapped the desk and said, ‘Accepted, accepted.’ And boom, he slapped it again, ‘Accepted! Go home! Don’t go back to your office! Go home. You’re done.’”
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