Former Attorney General William Barr, once a staunch ally of President Trump, is issuing a blistering condemnation of his one-time boss in the wake of a violent mob storming the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Barr said that "orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable."
Barr went on to strongly condemn Trump's actions, saying that "the President’s conduct yesterday was a betrayal of his office and supporters."
Barr resigned last month amid lingering tension over the president’s baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into Biden’s son.
In recent weeks, Barr broke with the president on a number of key points. In early December, Barr said the Justice Department had not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“To date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election,” Barr said in an interview with The Associated Press.
At the end of December, Barr said that he saw “no reason” to appoint a special counsel on the tax investigation into Hunter Biden, President-elect Joe Biden's son, nor does he intend to appoint a special counsel to investigate potential election fraud, again breaking with Trump.
“I have not seen a reason to appoint a special counsel and I have no plan to do so before I leave,” Barr said, noting that the investigation into Hunter Biden's financial dealings was “being handled responsibly and professionally.”
"I think to the extent that there is an investigation, I think that it's being handled responsibly and professionally, currently within the department," Barr said in full. "And to this point, I have not seen a reason to appoint special counsel. And I have no plan to do so before I leave."
Barr also added that he sees "no basis now for seizing machines by the federal government," following a report from the New York Times about a meeting at the White House that took place Friday where, among other things, executive action to take control of voting machines to inspect them was discussed.
"If I thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and was inappropriate, I would name one," Barr said. "But I haven't and I'm not going to."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.