Bill McSwain is Lying and Pennsylvanians Deserve Answers: DGA Files Public Records Request Seeking McSwain’s Communications about the Big Lie

Former AG Barr Blasts McSwain’s Letter as “Just False” and “Very Cutely Written”

Today, the Democratic Governors Association sent a public records request to the U.S. Department of Justice for all communications between former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain and parties including state Sen. Doug Mastriano, Donald Trump, and the Department of Justice pertaining to the ongoing and false allegations that the 2020 election wasn’t legitimate.

This comes as Trump recently released a letter from McSwain written seven months after the election, in which McSwain asks for President Trump’s endorsement and says for the first time that he received “various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities,” despite the fact that as U.S. Attorney he did not prosecute a single case of 2020 voter fraud, and still has provided no evidence to support his new claims meant to undermine confidence in American elections.

In the letter, McSwain claims he was prevented from investigating these supposed allegations of voter fraud by former U.S. Attorney General William Barr. Immediately following the release of the letter, Barr disputed McSwain’s accusations, calling them “just false,” and adding the letter was “ very cutely written”  and his claims “appeared to have been made to mollify President Trump to gain his support for McSwain’s planned run for governor.”

In addition to his letter to Trump, McSwain was also aware of efforts led by state Sen. Doug Mastriano to pressure the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in Pennsylvania to overturn the 2020 election. In December, Mastriano copied McSwain on a separate letter detailing a list of false claims about non-existent voter fraud.

Despite these communications between McSwain and GOPers pushing Donald Trump’s Big Lie — including the former president himself — McSwain has refused to answer basic questions about Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen. In a FOIA request filed today, the DGA is seeking records of communication from McSwain’s post-election activity that might reveal where McSwain received these allegations he references in the letter, and if he was in contact with other GOP lawyers or officials responsible for leading Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

“What Bill McSwain told Pennsylvanians when he was in office and what he’s telling Donald Trump ahead of his campaign for governor are two very different things,” said DGA Deputy Communications Director Sam Newton. “McSwain pretends to tout his commitment to upholding the law, but his suck-up letter to Trump shows how easily he was willing to toss that façade aside in a desperate move to further his political career ahead of what promises to be a nasty GOP primary. These communications raise serious questions about McSwain’s involvement in pushing Trump’s conspiracy theories and Pennsylvanians deserve answers.”

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