William Barr, the former attorney general under President Donald Trump took issue with some groups' efforts to block No Labels candidates from ballot access in all 50 states, saying their motions, "extinguishes First Amendment rights."
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Barr called out groups such as ThirdWay, the Lincoln Project and MoveOn Political Action, which he claimed are going after No Labels in their efforts to "save the republic from a second Trump term."
"Poll after poll shows American voters want a choice beyond Joe Biden and Donald Trump. I don't know whether a No Labels candidate would help or hurt either. But that calculus should make no difference," Barr said. "Blocking ballot access to a qualified organization doesn't enhance American democracy and civic life. It extinguishes First Amendment rights and makes our elections less meaningful."
Although Barr served under Trump, he has been a vocal critic of the former president and has opposed Trump's nomination, even going so far as to say if Trump were to be re-elected, the new attorney general will need to stand up to Trump's "abuse of power."
Barr also cautioned that the United States was getting dangerously close to Russian- and Iran-style elections where "the incumbent party routinely prevents rival parties and candidates from even appearing on ballots."
"Even if the campaign against No Labels isn't illegal, it is profoundly hypocritical and diminishes Americans' already low trust in our democratic system," Barr added.
No Labels' efforts to secure ballot access may end up being counterintuitive as Trump's support among Republicans remains strong and any third-party candidate, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would likely play the role of spoiler for Biden and not Trump.
Speaking to Reuters on the topic of third-party candidates, Pat Denis, president of the American Bridge group said, "We're keeping an eye out to make sure they're dotting all their i's and crossing their t's, and we are not ruling out legal action with our attorneys if we identify a problem — and that applies for all third-party threats to President Biden."
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