Republican tears into Bill Barr for enabling Trump's coup attempt: 'He could have stopped the Big Lie'

On Thursday, writing for USA TODAY, Republican columnist Chris Traux tore into former Attorney General William Barr for helping to enable former President Donald Trump's efforts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election — and then trying to reinvent himself as a hero.

"At one of the recent Jan. 6 committee hearings, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., claimed that former Attorney General Bill Barr and others 'stood up and did what is right,'" wrote Traux. "As a longtime Republican, I’m proud of the principled stand Cheney has taken. But when it comes to Barr, she could not be more wrong. I’ve had an unusual reaction to the House hearings so far, an uncomfortable mixture of embarrassment and disgust. Of course, I am relieved that the Trump administration had devolved into the gang that couldn’t coup straight. But I’m also embarrassed by former President Donald Trump’s cringeworthy collection of cowards, clowns and traitors."

Barr is a particular problem, wrote Traux, because he, "as attorney general of the United States, could have helped to stop the Big Lie and discredit Trump's claim that the election was stolen" — but did not make any kind of move against it until the gears were already in motion.

"Support and defend doesn’t mean run away. You can’t fulfill your oath by withdrawing from the fight when the Constitution is most threatened. So instead of telling Trump that his election fraud claims were 'bull----' and 'idiotic,' — as Barr admitted he did in his testimony before the committee — he should have been telling the entire country," wrote Traux.

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"What did Barr do instead? Here’s the first paragraph from the attorney general's resignation letter dated Dec. 14, 2020: 'I appreciate the opportunity to update you this afternoon on the (Justice) Department's review of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election and how these allegations will continue to be pursued. At a time when the country is so deeply divided, it is incumbent on all levels of government, and all agencies acting within their purview, to do all we can to assure the integrity of elections and promote public confidence in their outcome.'"

Barr, wrote Traux, was really just "trying to save his own skin" when he bailed on the project.

"Am I being too harsh on Barr? Perhaps. But Barr is the archetype for every Republican politician and every administration official who decided to go along to get along rather than publicly fight for what they knew was right. Maybe one Bill Barr could not have stopped the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But a hundred Bill Barrs, Liz Cheneys, Adam Kinzingers and Brad Raffenspergers — publicly declaring what we now know that Barr and almost everyone else in the administration privately admitted — would have," concluded Traux. "Let’s not mince words. Bill Barr did not stand up to do the right thing. Instead, Barr tried to have it both ways. It should earn him nothing but contempt."