Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr slammed the Biden-Harris Department of Justice on Monday for releasing a letter from a man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump last weekend, saying that there was no purpose to doing it other than trying to increase incitement against the Republican nominee.

The DOJ released the letter in court documents as part of the prosecutor’s attempts to keep Ryan Routh locked up in pretrial detention. The judge denied Routh bond on Monday.

In the letter, which was written several months ago and was discovered in a box of items that Routh left with another person, Routh said: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you.”

“I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”

Barr said in a statement that he was stunned that the DOJ did not redact the letter in court documents.

“I was dumbfounded that the DOJ made public this morning the contents of the letter that, Ryan Routh, left with an acquaintance prior to the attempted assassination of former President Trump,” Barr said. “The letter calls on people to ‘finish the job’ of killing President Trump, attempts to rouse people in incendiary terms to do so, and offers $150,000 to anyone who succeeds. There was no apparent justification for releasing this information at this stage.”

He said that the DOJ had “more than enough evidence” to keep Routh locked up without needing to release the letter.

“Even if DOJ thought it important to provide the letter to the court, it could have redacted inflammatory material or arranged to have the letter submitted under seal,” he said. “It was rash to put out this letter in the midst of an election during which two attempts on the life of President Trump had been made.”

“It served no purpose other than to risk inciting further violence,” he added.

Routh had a criminal history that barred him from owning firearms and Federal Election Commission (FEC) records indicate that Routh donated exclusively to Democrats from 2019-2020 when he lived in Hawaii.

The small-dollar donations, sent through the Democrats’ fundraising platform ActBlue, were earmarked for Democrat presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Elizabeth Warren.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) significantly escalated their strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanon on Monday, striking well over a thousand targets that present a serious threat to Israel.

The strikes against Hezbollah have rapidly increased over the last week as Israeli leaders push to return tens of thousands to their homes in northern Israel after they were displaced following Hezbollah attacks after Hamas’ October 7 attacks last year.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the Israeli Air Force has hit more than 1,300 Hezbollah targets so far today and is still launching new strikes that are continuing to target “cruise missiles that can reach hundreds of kilometers, heavy rockets with a 1,000-kilogram warhead, medium-range rockets that reach a range of up to 200 kilometers, short-range rockets, and armed unmanned aerial vehicles.”

More than 490 people, estimated to be mostly terrorists, were killed in the airstrikes on Monday with more than 1,600 sustaining injuries, according to the latest statistics released by the Lebanese government.

Secondary explosions were seen at many of the sites that the IDF targeted, indicating the presence of rockets and missiles that were detonating.

Shocking scenes in Lebanon as the IDF bombs the house of a local fireworks enthusiast. Just look at his collection of Catherine wheels, Roman candles and bottle rockets going off.

Well, either that or Hezbollah are hiding arms caches in civilian houses. Hard to say. pic.twitter.com/sl0obPvwBE

— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) September 23, 2024

What appears to be another Hezbollah ammunition depot in Sidon has been identified and struck by the Israeli military. pic.twitter.com/wol1FP4nLV

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 23, 2024

It continues. #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/CoxuyfaV4i

— FJ (@Natsecjeff) September 23, 2024

Looks like the Israelis identified and destroyed a Hezbollah ammunition depot. You can hear and see what may be a rocket burning off following the strike. pic.twitter.com/ZXvZMCXYBp

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 23, 2024

A close view of an Israeli airstrike targeting a Hezbollah site in Lebanon about an hour ago. pic.twitter.com/ylmjHPu0Tw

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 23, 2024

Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah positions reported in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley. pic.twitter.com/kwL9aQ1RrW

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 23, 2024

Significant Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon a short time ago. pic.twitter.com/cFHDZCieoR

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) September 23, 2024

Mainland Lebanon pic.twitter.com/b2Wex0YkoH

— FJ (@Natsecjeff) September 23, 2024

The IDF said in a statement on social media that it was carrying out the strikes because “over a million Israeli civilians are running to bomb shelters in Haifa as Hezbollah indiscriminately fires rockets.”

🚨Over a million Israeli civilians are running to bomb shelters in Haifa as Hezbollah indiscriminately fires rockets.

This is why we are operating against Hezbollah who is continuously attacking our civilians.

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 23, 2024

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that in the last day, the IDF has “crush[ed] what Hezbollah has built over twenty years.”

“[Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan] Nasrallah remains isolated at the top, entire units in the Radwan force have been taken out of action, and tens of thousands of rockets have been destroyed,” he added.

A senior Israeli official told a local news station: “What Hezbollah hasn’t understood through force, it will understand through more force.”

Israel wounded thousands of Hezbollah fighters last week by detonating pagers on Tuesday and detonating walkie talkies on Wednesday that it secretly made and sold to the terrorist group — devices that it laced with explosives. Hundreds of terrorists remain in critical condition and dozens more were killed.

On Friday, the IDF killed the entire senior command of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in an airstrike in a southern Beirut neighborhood, including Ibrahim Aqil, the Head of Hezbollah’s Operations Unit and the Commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces, who was also in charge of Hezbollah’s “Conquer the Galilee” attack plan.

The IDF followed up the elimination of the Radwan force’s senior command with an intense wave of airstrikes on Saturday, hitting nearly 300 targets “including thousands of launcher barrels, alongside additional terrorist infrastructure in multiple areas in southern Lebanon.”