AG Barr’s Re-Routing of PA Election Fraud Reports to Conflicted AG – Structural Suppression (PA)

AG William Barr instructed U.S. Attorney William McSwain (E.D. Pa.) to route all Pennsylvania election fraud allegations to Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro rather than investigate them independently. McSwain publicly disclosed this instruction in a June 9, 2021 letter. Shapiro was an elected Democrat who had appeared in campaign advertising during the 2020 election, publicly stated he would “fight like hell to ensure Pennsylvania went for Biden,” and whose office was actively involved in election litigation on behalf of the Commonwealth. The net effect was that federal election-fraud oversight in Pennsylvania – including allegations of attorney misconduct by election officials – was funneled to a structurally conflicted official who had no incentive to pursue them. This structural routing decision foreclosed independent legal recourse for election integrity counsel in Pennsylvania.