The nation’s former top prosecutor is weighing in on the landmark Trump conviction, predicting the trial’s verdict will be overruled on appeal. Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr explained in an interview this week that he “wasn’t particularly surprised” that former President Donald Trump, under whom Barr served, was convicted last week in a Manhattan trial.

“I said from the very start that this was an abomination, and I actually was surprised that they went ahead with the case, because there really was nothing there,” Barr added. “There was no crime there and they never were able to really articulate it until after the defense rested its case, so I thought the whole thing was a travesty.”

“I wasn’t surprised by the verdict because the way the case was conducted, there was never really any discipline on trying to make the prosecutor establish what the elements of the crime were and what evidence he had to do it,” Barr explained. “It was just assumed from the beginning that there was some kind of Federal Election Campaign violation, which there wasn’t.”

“I think this is ‘Exhibit Number One’ of the dual system of justice that is becoming more and more evident,” the former AG noted, referring to the political motivations behind the Trump prosecution. “What does this do to our body politic? What does this do to our country?” he asked. Barr also predicted, “This case is going to be overruled because there are just multiple errors and violations of constitutional rights. … This will eventually be overruled after the election.” He continued, “But what happens if there’s a close election and Biden squeaks through and then the case is overruled? Half the country is going to feel that this was a stolen election. And again, this is a grave injustice and disservice to the country.”

Barr also called on Manhattan judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the Trump trial, to lift the gag order he imposed on Trump. “The whole purpose of the gag order was to protect the integrity of the process, to make sure that the trial was not disrupted by what was said,” Barr explained. “The trial is now over. The verdict’s been delivered. Now everyone out there is talking about it … and the President, like anybody else, has a right to defend himself in the court of public opinion, especially when he’s running for the presidency of the United States.”

“He has to be able to attack the charges, to assert that the witnesses against him weren’t telling the truth, and [to] point out all of the flaws in the case and some of the rulings by the judge, which are inexplicable,” Barr stated. Regarding Trump’s sentencing, which is scheduled for July 11, Barr said, “I hope that [Merchan] doesn’t do what they usually do, what the Left usually does, which is to go too far and either deny [Trump] his freedom or impose a severe gag order on him.” He added, “I think that would sort of affect people’s attitude toward the ultimate fairness of this election.”

Over the past months, Barr has become an increasingly vocal supporter of the embattled former president, despite having criticized him in the past. Earlier this year, Barr reluctantly endorsed Trump, warning that voting for incumbent President Joe Biden is “national suicide.” The former AG doubled down on this position in April, admitting that he isn’t happy about a second Trump-Biden matchup but that he believes Trump to be the better choice for America. “I think getting control over the border, stopping the lawlessness in our cities, building up the strength of the United States in an ever-more-dangerous world … these are critical things that have to be done,” Barr stated. “And we’ll get them done under a Trump administration.”

Barr explained at the time that his past criticisms of Trump were never policy-related but were instead criticisms of Trump’s behavior, particularly the former president’s insistence that the 2020 election was rigged. Now, Barr himself is alleging that the continuing lawfare campaign against Trump is a clear form of election interference.