In response to AG Barr's decision, NYTimes reports that Richard Pilger - who oversees voter fraud investigations - has quit: "Having familiarized myself with the new policy and its ramifications... I must regretfully resign from my role as director of the Election Crimes Branch." Does it not seem odd that when asked to investigate voter fraud, the gentleman who is in charge of investigating voter fraud chooses to resign rather than do his f**king job? Perhaps it was his alleged involvement in the Lois Lerner IRS targeting Tea Party groups debacle that triggered this resignation? * * * In a day when numerous lawsuits were filed challenging the outcome of the presidential election, and when prominent Republicans such as Mitch McConnell finally came out in support of Trump's contention that the election was rigged, late on Monday Attorney General William Barr authorized the Justice Department to launch a probe into "substantial allegations" of voter fraud in the 2020 election, the AP first reported. In a letter to US attorneys across the country, Barr said they could conduct investigations “if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual state.” According to the Washington Times, this is an unusual move, since Justice Department policy prohibits any action that could influence the outcome of an election until the vote is formally certified. But the Justice Department is responsible for ensuring the integrity of federal elections. Barr’s memo comes days after presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden was declared the winner by several media outlets in the 2020 presidential election. President Trump has not conceded and has launched several legal efforts challenging the results in states where the voting margins are razor-thin. By granting prosecutors the power to pursue such cases, U.S. attorneys around the country could give Trump more ammunition for his lawsuit. The DOJ's action, which many republicans will claim is long overdue, comes after Republicans in recent days turned up the heat on Barr to take some action in response to the voter fraud allegations. Earlier on Monday, Barr reportedly met with McConnell on Monday. On Friday, nearly 40 Republican members of Congress sent a letter to the AG asking him to get to the bottom of the voter fraud claims. "What are you doing to ensure the integrity of the voting and counting process right now?” the Republicans asked Mr. Barr in their letter. The lawmakers also called on the attorney general to commit to “using all the resources” at his disposal to ensure only legal votes are being counted “in a fully transparent manner.” Also last week, the Nevada Republican Party sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department claiming they have received reports of at least 3,062 instances of voter fraud in the battleground state.