Barr talks Trump, the Big Lie, and 2000 Mules during 2nd Jan. 6 hearing

Much of the Jan. 6 select committee's second public hearing followed the testimony of former Attorney General William Barr, who testified that he grew worried former President Donald Trump had become "detached from reality" in the aftermath of the 2020 race.
"He's become detached from reality if he really believes this stuff," Barr said in a video played during the hearing, referring to the former president's claims of widespread voter and election fraud. Trump never gave any "indication of interest in what the actual facts were," Barr added.
The former attorney general said he found the allegations Trump had embraced to be "complete nonsense," and "crazy stuff," and he even had a slight chuckle while discussing conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza's film 2000 Mules, which purports to prove claims of widespread voter fraud in the last election.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Barr said the film's logic, which relies on cellphone geolocation data, is "singularly unimpressive" and "indefensible."
"My opinion then and my opinion now is that the election was not stolen by fraud, and I haven't seen anything since the election that changes my mind on that, including the 2000 Mules movie," Barr told panel investigators.
Additionally, Barr called a report that Trump relied on to back his bid to remain in power "amateurish." Prepared by the obscure Allied Security Operations Group, the report alleged to have found evidence of widespread vote manipulation inside Dominion Voting Systems machines. The report was almost immediately debunked, but Trump still bought into it, Barr said.
Notably, Barr has recently said he would probably vote for Trump in 2024 if he were the Republican nominee.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Prince charming: Harry’s tea with King sparks royal reconciliation rumours
Talking Point Are the royals (and the UK public) ready to welcome the Duke of Sussex back in?
-
Has Israel’s Qatar strike scuppered a ceasefire?
Today’s Big Question Netanyahu ‘gambles’ on ‘overwhelming strength’ rather than diplomacy in attack on Hamas negotiation team in Doha
-
Deaf Republic: ‘an experimental epic of war and resistance’
The Week Recommends Ukrainian-American writer Ilya Kaminsky’s poetry collection is brought to the stage in this ‘enthralling’ production
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ouster
Speed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
Trump threatens critics with federal charges
Feature Days after FBI agents raided John Bolton's home, Trump threatened legal action against Chris Christie
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
Why are Trump's health rumors about more than just presidential fitness?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Extended absences and unexplained bruises have raised concerns about both his well-being and his administration's transparency
-
'The McDonald's menu board is one fascinating thing'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day