Attorney General Bill Barr said he is not aware of any way a U.S. president could contest the result of an election which he clearly lost during his Tuesday testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.
Barr’s statement came in response to a question from Democratic Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond regarding President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that mass mail-in voting could cause a “rigged” election.
Though Barr agreed with the president that resorting to mass mail-in voting would make election fraud more likely, he rebuffed the possibility that Trump could challenge the clear result of an election.
“I also saw on TV that the president said he’s not sure that he’ll accept the election results. Can a president just protest because he lost an election?” Richmond asked.
“Protest in what sense?” Barr replied.
“Well, can he contest an election just because he simply loses?” Richmond says.
Barr mentioned that the 2000 election between former President George W. Bush and then-Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore as a potential example of a president contesting an election. Richmond argued that instance was unique due to the extremely thin margin between the two candidates.
“If it is very clear that the president has lost an election, does he have a remedy to contest the election?” Richmond ultimately asked.
“Not that I’m aware of,” Barr replies.
The exchange came as part of Barr’s far-reaching testimony before the committee, which included several heated exchanges with Democratic members of Congress. (RELATED: Attorney General Bill Barr Testimony Delayed After Rep. Jerry Nadler Gets Into Car Accident)
Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler opened the hearing by saying Barr has used federal officers to gather footage for Trump campaign videos. He then announced his time had expired before Barr was given a chance to respond.
“Shame on you!” Nadler said. Barr pushed back, asking for a chance to respond, but Nadler simply repeated, “Shame on you! My time has expired. My time has expired.”