Josh Shapiro says Bill McSwain never sent allegations to 2020 election as Trump takes center stage

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Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiros’s office said former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain never referred any reports of wrongdoing regarding the 2020 election to Shapiro, despite McSwains’ claim that he had received various allegations and was ordered to send them to the highest state prosecutor.

At issue, a June letter that McSwain, now a candidate for Republican governor, sent to former President Donald Trump, who made the letter public on Monday.

On Election Day and thereafter, our office received various allegations of electoral fraud and electoral irregularities, McSwain wrote to Trump asking for his approval. As part of my responsibilities as a US prosecutor, I wanted to be transparent with the public and, of course, thoroughly investigate any allegation. Attorney General [Bill] Barr, however, asked me not to make public statements or issue press releases regarding possible election irregularities. I also received a directive to forward the serious allegations to the state attorney general for investigation.

McSwain never explicitly says in the letter that he in fact made these references to Shapiro, the top Democratic frontrunner for governor. I didn’t agree with that decision, but it was my orders, McSwain wrote. As a Marine Infantry Officer, I have been trained to follow the chain of command and abide by orders from my superiors, even when I disagree with them.

Shapiro spokesman Jacklin Rhoads said Monday evening that Shapiro has a close working relationship with McSwain and his team, including working together in the 2020 election. But McSwains’ letter to Trump is the first that our office has heard of her concerns, she said.

We have received and sent several referrals to local, state and federal law enforcement, but we have not received any direct referrals from Mr McSwains’ office, Rhoads said. This personal note to President Trump, sent seven months after the election, is the first our office has heard of Mr. McSwain’s concerns. While aware of allegations of electoral fraud, Mr. McSwain had a duty to report and, as he knows, our office investigates every referral and credible allegation he receives.

In his letter, McSwain expressed his distrust of Shapiro, citing statements he made ahead of the election that Trump risked losing the Pennsylvania election. And while McSwain complains about the directive he says he received from Barr, his letter makes no specific claims about voter fraud.

Instead, McSwain echoes a series of complaints by Trump and his allies about how Pennsylvania conducted the 2020 election. Trump and his campaign argued these issues in state and federal courts after the election and were repeatedly refused by the judges. There is no credible evidence of significant fraud in the Pennsylvania election results.

The back and forth highlights how calls for a re-examination of the elections and to denigrate the 2020 results are now key elements of the GOP primaries nationwide and in Pennsylvania, where the state is holding critical elections for the governor and the US Senate next year.

READ MORE: Supporting Trumps election lies becomes litmus test for Pennsylvania Republicans seeking higher office

McSwain has often appeared to be a reluctant player in Trump’s long-standing efforts to undermine elections with disinformation and lies. McSwain dodged previous questions about accepting the 2020 results, and he declined several interview requests to expand on his point and respond to Trump, who highlighted McSwain’s concerns in two recent speeches. McSwain only authorized a statement after Trump released his letter. This statement confirmed the authenticity of the letters but said no more.

McSwain tweeted on Tuesday that he was happy Trump shared his letter. The more people who know the facts, the better, he added.

But McSwains’ letter and tweet offer no context for its creation. Did McSwain write it // only seeking Trump’s support for the governor? Did Trump ask for it for his arsenal of attacks on Barr, who recently told The Atlantic that former presidents’ allegations of a stolen election are all bulls?

Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington kept the pace on Monday, using McSwain’s concerns, saying on Twitter that Barr had ordered McSwain to pass the election fraud investigations to Democrat AG Shapiro for cover!

Trump first mentioned McSwain in a July 3 speech in Florida, saying: We have an American lawyer in Philadelphia who says he was not allowed to go and check on Philadelphia. Trump has promised to reveal at some point who would have held back McSwain.

He went further on Sunday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas, announcing McSwains’ letter but saying he didn’t want to be the one to publish it. Trump told the crowd that McSwain was not allowed to do his job. And I saw that. He was all excited and then all of a sudden it was like he was turned off.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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