Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr urged a federal prosecutor in Pennsylvania to release a misleading public statement about a 2020 investigation into nine discarded Luzerne County ballots, according to the Department of Justice's watchdog.
Barr and David Freed, then the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, were central to releasing the "unusual" statement containing specific details about an ongoing investigation before any charges had been filed, according to the 76-page report by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Freed's statement said all nine ballots had been cast for President Donald Trump's reelection. (Officials later clarified only seven were identified as Trump ballots, while two remained sealed.)
But the statement also omitted critical details, Horowitz wrote, including that investigators knew at an early stage that the employee who mistakenly discarded the ballots was mentally impaired, had been fired, and would likely not face criminal charges.
As a result, the report states, Freed's statement inflamed election-year tensions around false allegations of widespread voter fraud — allegations Trump spread once he learned about the Luzerne County incident from Barr.
"We concluded that by selectively referencing only the votes for the presidential election and highlighting that all nine recovered ballots were marked for President Trump, while omitting any reference to the fact that a federal criminal case was unlikely and the limited nature of the potential wrongdoing, the (Freed) statement provided inaccurate information to the public, unnecessarily inserted partisanship into the investigation, and created a false impression that the conduct under investigation was much more serious than Department leadership knew it to be," Horowitz wrote.
Rather than reassuring the public, the statement had the opposite effect," Horowitz added.
Horowitz did not accuse Barr and Freed of misconduct, but said their actions violated longstanding DOJ policies about commenting on active investigations.
How the crisis unfolded
In September 2020, then-Luzerne County Elections Director Shelby Watchilla discovered the military ballots in a dumpster, and reported this to local officials.
According to the Horowitz report:
On Sept. 21, 2020, the Luzerne County District Attorney's Office sought assistance from the FBI in Scranton. Once they had completed their search of the dumpster, then DA Stefanie Salavantis asked the FBI to take over as lead investigative agency. That led to Freed's involvement.
His office learned "Pennsylvania State Police identified and interviewed the suspect, who admitted he threw the ballots in the dumpster because he was 'on the lookout for fraudulent ballots.'"
That afternoon, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bruce Brandler submitted an “urgent report” to the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General alerting them to the investigation.
“I was looking at it as a potential criminal investigation and to me, the fact that ... all of the ballots that were discarded were for one candidate was a red flag. If it had been an equal number on each side ... it would be ... less suspicious that it was done intentionally,” Brandler told investigators.
But the investigators also learned that as early as Sept. 22 Freed had told one of his counterparts in Ohio that he had "deep concerns" about the employee's mental capacity, and that the matter appeared to be “potentially minor” conduct involving only a handful of ballots.
Freed initially communicated the basics of the situation to Barr in a Sept. 22 call that lasted about five minutes, the report states. Freed said Barr told him to “keep on top of it” and that they would “talk again.”
That day, DA Salavantis issued a release stating that her office had learned of “issues with a small number of mail-in ballots which were received by the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections,” that her office had “consulted with the United States Attorney’s Office,” and that “federal authorities [had] assumed lead investigative authority of this incident.”
Barr briefed Trump about the Luzerne County investigation on the afternoon of Sept. 23, 2020, advising the president that he "should not say anything about it until the Department put something out," he told the inspector general's office.
The following morning, Trump referenced the Luzerne County investigation during a radio interview, calling the situation "a horror show" and emblematic of thousands of locations perhaps," the OIG report notes.
Barr told inspector general's office this led to "increased press attention and added further impetus" for the DOJ to release its own statement.
Barr called Freed late that morning. Their discussion about the case turned to talk of releasing a public statement. After a brief discussion of potential contents, Freed recalled that Barr asked him, “Do you want to do it or should I?”
Freed said he would issue the statement, because his office handled the matter. Barr instructed him to reach out to the DOJ's Office of Public Affairs to work on it. The statement was released at 1:14 p.m.
Freed did not consult with either the FBI or the Department’s Public Integrity Section about the statement or a related letter sent to the Director of the Luzerne County Bureau of Elections. He also did not notify either that the department planned to issue those documents publicly, Horowitz's report notes.
The public did not learn the outcome of the investigation until months afterward, well after the presidential election, which President Joe Biden won.
Brandler, who became acting U.S. Attorney when Freed resigned in January 2021, issued a statement on Jan. 15, 2021, stating that the matter was closed and no charges would be filed.
Reactions, recommendations
The inspector general's investigation revealed that the Sept. 24, 2020 Freed statement raised eyebrows among experienced staff.
"Other than Freed and the OPA Director, nearly every DOJ lawyer we interviewed — both career employees and Trump Administration political appointees—emphasized how 'unusual' it would be for the Department to issue a public statement containing details about an ongoing criminal investigation, particularly before any charges are filed," the report stated.
"As one then U.S. Attorney told us: 'If [we] don’t have a charge, we don’t say anything about an investigation; we just don’t do that.'"
DOJ Public Integrity Section chief Corey Amundson told investigators he "found it very odd that all of these people [who] have a lot on their plate and [who] are in senior leadership positions would be involved in the issuance of a press release in the Middle District of Pennsylvania on a matter that is not only not under indictment, but it doesn't involve particularly significant issues apart of course from being election related."
A public integrity official not named in the document told investigators he was “appalled” and “kind of shocked” when he saw the statement.
“I mean, if you had to make any statement at all, it didn’t have to be so partisan,” he added.
The report concluded neither Barr nor Freed engaged in misconduct, but Freed's release and related actions did violate DOJ policies. They cited Freed, in particular, for not consulting with public integrity and coordinating with the FBI prior to releasing the statement and letter.
Horowitz was "troubled" by Barr's communication with Trump, but found it did not violate DOJ's White House communication policy, which allows the attorney general discretion over what information can be shared with the president in cases where that communication is permitted.
The report recommends policy revisions and clarifications, dealing with what information is released publicly about investigations, what confidentiality policies apply to the attorney general, and what information can be released to the White House.
Freed, Barr reactions
“Attorney General Barr did not violate the Justice Manual, as the report acknowledges. Neither did I, as I handled this investigation properly from start to finish and my public statements were explicitly approved by the AG or his senior staff," Freed said in a statement released in response to the report. "I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to serve the public as U.S. Attorney.”
According to the report, Freed told investigators "that he was not influenced by any political motivation during the discussion about issuing a public statement, and that his favoring the issuance of a public statement had nothing to do with either keeping his job as the U.S. attorney or attempting to help reelect President Trump," the report states.
“I know that virtually any decision I make is going to be questioned and, especially in this environment, there's going to be political motives imputed to it. And there's a large percentage of people [who] won't credit or believe what I say. So, I understand that. I just try to make the best decision I can based on what's in front of me,” the report quotes Freed as saying.
"Freed told us that he 'understood the sensitivity' of the matter" given DOJ's policies, particularly regarding election year sensitivities, "and stated that that is “why [he] had the contact with the AG.”
Barr was not interviewed by the inspector general, but in a letter to the agency said he was concerned about allaying public fears and speculation regarding election integrity in the wake of the incident.
Remaining silent, Barr wrote, “would have ended up doing more harm to the public interest than getting out in front with a more forthcoming statement in the first place."
Barr reviewed a draft of the inspector general's report and described its finding that the report was misleading was "nonsense," a note in the report states.
"The (Freed) statement had its intended effect," Barr wrote.
Luzerne County reaction
Closer to home, Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo issued a statement saying she hoped that the matter "is finally put to rest."
"I would like to emphasize that upon becoming aware of this incident, Luzerne County administration promptly notified the relevant authorities and cooperated fully with their investigation. There was no evidence of fraud in Luzerne County elections neither at the time of the incident nor at any point thereafter," said Crocamo, who was the county's chief solicitor in September 2020.
"Luzerne County remains dedicated to maintaining the trust and confidence of the public in our electoral system. We are committed to working closely with the appropriate authorities to further enhance security measures and prevent such incidents from occurring in the future," she added.
