Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday alleged that Attorney General William Barr had lied to Congress and said she will no longer address “anything more that he has to say,” The Washington Post reported.
“I don’t even want to address him,” Pelosi told reporters. “He has lied to Congress as the attorney general of the United States. He’s lied under oath. I’m not speaking to anything more that he has to say.”
{mosads}The Post reported that Pelosi’s comments were in reference to Barr’s April testimony to the House Appropriations Committee, during which Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.) asked the attorney general about reports that members of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election were “frustrated” by Barr’s summary of the investigation’s findings.
Barr said he did not know about any reports of Mueller’s frustration, but it was reported that he had received a letter and phone call from Mueller two weeks earlier about the former special counsel’s concerns.
Pelosi’s comments came one day after Barr accused House Democrats of wanting to create a “public spectacle” ahead of Mueller’s scheduled testimony before Congress next week. Barr said he would support Mueller if he “doesn’t want to subject himself” to the appearance in an interview with The Associated Press.
“I’m not sure what purpose is served by dragging him up there and trying to grill him,” Barr told the AP. “I don’t think Mueller should be treated that way or subject himself to that, if he doesn’t want to.”
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Pelosi’s office declined to comment further and said her remarks were “self explanatory” when reached by The Hill.
Pelosi made similar allegations in May, which Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec called a “baseless attack.”
“Speaker Pelosi’s baseless attack on the Attorney General is reckless, irresponsible, and false,” Kupec said in a statement at the time.