President Trump said on Monday that Attorney General William P. Barr would depart next week, ending a tenure marked by Mr. Barr’s willingness to advance the president’s political agenda and criticism that he eroded the post-Watergate independence of the Justice Department.
Mr. Barr had in recent weeks fallen out of favor with the president after acknowledging that the department had found no widespread voter fraud, but Mr. Trump sought to play down their differences, saying in a tweet announcing Mr. Barr’s departure, “Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!”
And Mr. Barr said in a resignation letter, much of which was devoted to praising Mr. Trump’s term, that the Justice Department was pursuing allegations of voter fraud. Mr. Barr had acknowledged earlier this month that the department has not found any evidence of widespread irregularities that would overturn the outcome of the election.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to elaborate on what the department was doing to review fraud allegations or continue to pursue them.
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