The US Justice Department's election supervisor resigned, hours after the attorney general allowed an investigation into allegations of irregularities in the presidential election, which Democratic candidate Joe Biden declared his victory in while his results are being questioned by Republican candidate President Donald Trump.
The New York Times reported that the Justice Department chief, Richard Pilger, resigned after US Attorney General William Barr authorized federal prosecutors to investigate allegations of election irregularities.
The New York Times, the Washington Post and other media said that Barr reminded prosecutors that allegations of voting irregularities should be investigated before states move to endorse the results in the coming weeks, while urging them not to be indifferent to the "fanciful" allegations. Unlikely. "
Investigations into possible electoral fraud are usually the prerogative of each state, which sets its own election rules and oversees them.
The Ministry of Justice will not intervene in such cases until the results are confirmed and the recounts are completed.
Usually, prosecutors are only allowed to act after the final results are available.
This could take days or weeks after the November 3 election, depending on local laws, and states must inform Washington of the final results approved no later than December 8.
Incumbent President Donald Trump, who refused to concede defeat, alleges that there was massive electoral fraud in the presidential election, and launched a series of lawsuits to challenge the result;
But he has yet to provide any solid evidence to support these claims.
The Trump campaign has sued Pennsylvania Secretary Cathy Popkfar and election boards in 7 different counties in the state, accusing the mail-in voting system of "lacking all the signs of transparency and verification found in the voters' vote themselves."
The lawsuit seeks to obtain an emergency injunction to prevent state officials from certifying Joe Biden's victory.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Republican majority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said on Monday that President Trump has the right to consider last week's election "irregularities";
But he did not present any evidence of fraud.
He added that Trump "has a 100% right to look into allegations of wrongdoing and assess his legal options." Before addressing the Senate, McConnell met with Attorney General William Barr.
Few Republican senators congratulated Biden on his victory, and Republican Senator Susan Collins told reporters Monday night that she believed the president's legal appeals would likely not alter the election outcome.
CNN quoted a Trump adviser as realizing that he had lost the elections, and that he was already discussing with his aides the possibility of running for the presidency in 2024.
Axios had reported, citing two family sources, that Trump discussed the candidacy with his advisers, saying that Trump's raising of the issue is the clearest indication of his admission of defeat against Biden, despite his continued public refusal.
Although the major American media announced Biden's victory in the presidential elections, they have not yet announced the final winner in 4 states, which are Alaska, Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina.
Biden has so far received at least 279 electoral votes, compared to Trump only 214 votes, and even if the latter wins all the remaining four states, he will not be able to reach the 270 vote threshold required to win the presidency.