White House officials pushed Atlanta’s top federal prosecutor to resign ahead of U.S. Senate bids in Georgia because President Trump was upset for not doing enough to investigate the president’s unproven allegations of election fraud. according to people familiar with the matter.
A senior Justice Department official, at the urging of the White House, called the U.S. prosecutor appointed by Trump Byung J. Pak and told him he should step down because he was not pursuing allegations of vote fraud for the Mr. Trump’s satisfaction. dit.
Pak abruptly resigned on Monday – the day before the runoff – saying in an early-morning email to classmates that his departure was called “unforeseen circumstances”.
Pressure on Mr. Pak was part of Trump’s weeks-long drive to try to alter the election results by favoring President-elect Joe Biden, which included his victory in Georgia. Trump this week, following the uproar of the U.S. Capitol, said he would step down on Jan. 20 when Mr. Biden is inaugurated.
Attorney General William Barr, who recently resigned, said the Justice Department has found no evidence of widespread election fraud that could reverse Biden’s victory, including claims of fraud, destruction of voting and manipulation of voting machines.