Ex-U.S. Attorney was wrong to bash critic of Barr's election memo
-report
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[February 18, 2022]
By Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Trump-era U.S.
Attorney engaged in "unbecoming" conduct when he publicly bashed a
federal prosecutor for signing a letter that was critical of
then-Attorney General Bill Barr's order to pursue investigations into
voting irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, a new report
has found.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said on Thursday
that the ex-U.S. Attorney made inappropriate comments about one of the
prosecutors in his office during a press conference.
The press conference came after Barr penned a controversial memo
ordering U.S. Attorneys offices to pursue "substantial" allegations of
voting irregularities.
Critics said the order was improper because it gave credence to
President Donald Trump's false claims the election was stolen, and it
prompted the department's top lawyer overseeing voter fraud
investigations at the time to resign from that position in protest.
Ultimately Barr concluded there was no evidence of wide-spread voter
fraud.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/18/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
At a press conference, a reporter asked the U.S. Attorney about the
letter, which was signed by a number of assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA),
including one in his office.
In response, the U.S. Attorney "sought to undermine the AUSA’s
professional reputation by referencing that the spouse of the AUSA who
signed the letter had previously worked for two U.S. Attorneys General
of the previous administration," the report says, thereby
inappropriately suggesting the AUSA was motivated by partisan political
considerations.
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![](../images/021822PIX/news_L57.jpg)
U.S. Attorney General William Barr participates in a roundtable
discussion about human trafficking at the U.S. Attorney's Office in
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., September 21, 2020. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Feb/18/images/ads/current/2021_lda_Businessdirectory.png) Those comments "constituted poor
judgment, was unbecoming of a U.S. Attorney or any DOJ leader, and
reflected poorly on DOJ," Horowitz found.
It also ran contrary to internal department guidance, which urged
leadership to refrain from commenting negatively because the letter
was legally protected free speech.
The report does not identify the former U.S. Attorney, but its
description closely matches a November 2020 press conference held by
Scott Brady, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of
Pennsylvania.
At that event, Brady said one of the prosecutors who signed the
letter "was married to the former chief of staff of Eric Holder and
Loretta Lynch" and had added his name "unbeknownst to anyone in
leadership" and without talking to an ethics adviser.
Brady, now an attorney with Jones Day, could not be immediately
reached for comment.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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