Trump's conduct was a 'betrayal of his office & supporters', says ex-aide William Barr

The former US Attorney General William Barr on January 7 released a scathing statement about outgoing President Donald Trump’s behaviour, as a mob stormed the most iconic American federal building. According to Associated Press, Barr, who left the office late last month, described Trump’s conduct, while a violent mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol, as a “betrayal of his office and supporters”. He said that “orchestrating a mob to pressure Congress is inexcusable”. 

Barr was one of Trump’s most loyal and ardent defenders in the Cabinet. His comments came a day after angry and armed protesters broke into the Capitol building, forcing Congress members to halt the outgoing vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s election and then flee from the house and Senate chambers. 

The US President justified the mob’s actions by citing his baseless claims of widespread fraud in the presidential election, essentially blaming his opponents for the violence that reportedly left four dead. However, after more than 12 hours of Trump supporters violently breaking into the US Capitol, Congress has confirmed Electoral College vote and President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

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Trump vows ‘orderly transition’ 

Meanwhile, Biden condemned the Capitol invading as “insurrection”. However, after the unprecedented chaos, Trump pledged an “orderly” transfer of power on January 20. Starting off by saying that he ‘totally disagrees’ with the outcome, Trump went on to say that it "represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history”. “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," Trump said in a statement.

"I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again," Trump said while reiterating the baseless claims about the US Election 2020 that led his supporters to storm the Capitol.

(Inputs from AP)

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