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in a word

Fox News' Andrew Napolitano concludes Barr deceived Congress

Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano isn't holding back on Attorney General William Barr, accusing him of deceiving Congress and engaging in "foolish" and "insulting" behavior.

Napolitano in a new Fox News op-ed lambastes Barr for his four-page summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report. Barr's critics have accused him of spinning the results of the investigation in Trump's favor with this summary of the investigation's principal conclusions, with Mueller himself writing Barr a letter complaining about the summary.

Napolitano agrees with this criticism, calling the summary a "foolish attempt to sanitize the Mueller report" that was "misleading, disingenuous and deceptive." He also says that because Barr knew that the public would soon see the full Mueller report, his summary was also "dumb and insulting." Specifically, Napolitano criticizes Barr for suggesting Mueller had exonerated Trump when he "knows the DOJ is not in the business of exonerating the people it investigates."

This isn't the only way Napolitano thinks Barr misled Congress, though. He also breaks down Democrats' accusations that Barr lied to Congress when he testified that he wasn't aware of criticism from members of Mueller's team about his summary.

"But of course, Barr did know," Napolitano writes, going on to say, "Was Barr's testimony before Congress deceptive? In a word: Yes."

Barr has argued he did not deceive Congress because Mueller told him in a private conversation that he did not have a problem with Barr's summary of his conclusions, and because he wasn't aware of members of Mueller's team specific concerns.

But Napolitano suggests Barr, who the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of holding in contempt this week, may have a problem, writing, "Barr's prosecutors regularly prosecute defendants for doing what it now appears Barr has done."