Top election crimes prosecutor in US resigns in protest after Attorney General's nod to probe allegations of 'voting irregularities'
Nov 10, 2020
Washington DC [US], November 10 : Richard Pilger, the director of the US Department of Justice's Election Crimes Branch, has resigned after Attorney General William Barr sent out a memo to federal prosecutors giving them a nod to probe allegations of fraud in the 2020 US presidential polls.
"Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications ... I must regretfully resign from my role as Director of the Election Crimes Branch," Pilger's letter read, as quoted by Sputnik.
This development comes as Republicans, led by in Donald Trump has refused to accept win of President-elect Joe Biden, claiming widespread "voter fraud."
Amid Trump's refusal to concede, Attorney General Barr has issued a memorandum that authorized the federal authorities to launch inquiries into credible accusations of voting irregularities in the US presidential election.
Barr said the claims should be investigated before the results of the election are made public.
In his memo, Barr was quoted by CNN as saying that while "most allegations of purported election misconduct are of such a scale that they would not impact the outcome of an election and, thus, investigation can appropriately be deferred, that is not always the case."
"Furthermore, any concerns that overt actions taken by the Department could inadvertently impact an election are greatly minimized, if they exist at all, once voting has concluded, even if election certification has not yet been completed," he wrote.
As Democratic Joe Biden has been declared as the US president-elect, Trump continues to claim that the polls were conducted fraudulently and the president's lawyers have begun filing litigation claims in courts across the United States.
