Letters to the Editor: Oh, so now William Barr is willing to tell Trump the truth?

To the editor: Atty. Gen. William Barr had no problem undermining America’s electoral integrity before finally conceding on Dec. 1 that voter fraud was not an issue in the 2020 election. Without evidence, he spent months echoing President Trump’s lies about the safety of mail-in ballots.

By refusing to speak out sooner, Barr has been complicit in the wild and ridiculous election conspiracy theories that have wasted the nation’s time, cost lives by delaying transition funds for the incoming Biden administration and, now, led to death threats against election workers. As Trump’s lucrative “Stop the Steal” campaign barrels on — with more than $170 million raised from his deluded supporters so far — the very safety of Georgia election officials and their families is at risk.

Now that the attorney general has finally spoken up, will Trump’s other small men have the decency to follow suit?

Wendy Blais, North Hills

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To the editor: Although Barr stated that he has not seen “fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome,” he fell short in failing to confirm he did not find any election fraud.

Perhaps now he could reread the report by former Justice Department special counsel Robert S. Mueller III on Russian election interference and tell the Trump followers what it actually revealed regarding the president’s misconduct.

Kevin H. Park, Westlake Village

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To the editor: I applaud Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling, an avowed Republican, for his impassioned call for Trump and others who support him to condemn the incitement of violence in connection with the president’s continuing falsehoods about election fraud.

Sadly, his public expression of displeasure is just another futile cry for courage and moral character at a time when the Republican Party has abandoned these traits.

In fact, the intimidation and threats that Sterling described are nothing new. We’re not talking about a single incident of failed leadership or dishonorable policy. This anger has become embedded in the fabric of a political party and its amoral leadership, which then spurs and emboldens the bigotry of millions in our electorate.

Those who continue to vote for candidates who engage in such despicable incitement of division and undermining of our democratic institutions and values are themselves complicit. Whatever their rationale of aligning with some political agenda, they tacitly underwrite the offenses by Trump and the party that seems incapable of challenging his extreme form of demagoguery.

T.R. Jahns, Hemet