President Donald Trump is once again calling for a special prosecutor to investigate his false claims about the 2020 election being “stolen,” despite his previous efforts to challenge the results being dismissed in courts and by his own administration.
On June 20, Trump posted on social media, saying, “Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING.
A Special Prosecutor must be appointed.” His remarks continued to press an issue that has been a central focus since his defeat to Joe Biden in the presidential election, despite legal challenges and independent reviews debunking his claims.
Trump’s Efforts to Challenge Election Results
Trump’s numerous attempts to overturn the election results, including legal challenges, were repeatedly rejected in court. Independent reviews and members of his own administration, including Attorney General William Barr, stated that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud.
In early December 2020, Barr said that the Justice Department had “not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election.”
Despite losing nearly every court case—including 64 challenges in key swing states—Trump persisted in pushing his claims. A 2022 report titled “Lost, Not Stolen,” compiled by eight conservative legal experts, reviewed those cases and found no credible evidence of election fraud. Trump’s team only won one case in that entire period.
The Aftermath: The Capitol Attack and Impeachment
Trump’s refusal to accept the election results eventually led to the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to overturn the election results. This event led to Trump’s impeachment for incitement of insurrection, though the Senate acquitted him of the charges.
Despite the legal consequences, Trump’s legal battles continued. He was indicted by a grand jury for his actions in trying to overturn the election results, but his legal team sought to dismiss charges stemming from the January 6 events after Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, a request that was granted by a judge.
Pardoning Those Involved in January 6
On his first day back in office, Trump issued pardons for nearly 1,600 individuals who had been charged with crimes related to the January 6 Capitol insurrection.
Trump’s Continued Claims
Despite the lack of evidence, Trump continues to fuel his claims that the election was rigged, keeping the issue alive among his supporters. His call for a special prosecutor to investigate his claims signals his ongoing refusal to move past the events of the 2020 election.
As of now, Trump’s legal challenges related to the election and the aftermath of the Capitol attack remain unresolved, leaving a deep divide in the political landscape of the United States.