Attorney General William P. Barr faced blistering criticism from Democrats about his characterizations of the Mueller report, but told the Senate Judiciary Committee he had been truthful.
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr defended himself on Wednesday against withering criticism of his handling of the special counsel investigation as Democrats accused of him of deceiving Congress and acting as a personal agent for President Trump rather than a steward of justice.
At a contentious hearing marked by a deep partisan divide, Mr. Barr denied misrepresenting the investigation’s conclusions despite a newly revealed letter by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, protesting the initial summary of its findings. Mr. Barr dismissed the letter as “a bit snitty” and the controversy over it as “mind-bendingly bizarre.”
But in a series of aggressive interrogations, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed indignation and asserted that the attorney general had been “purposely misleading,” engaged in “masterful hairsplitting” and even “lied to Congress.” Several Democrats on the committee, elsewhere in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail called for Mr. Barr’s resignation or even impeachment.
The conflict escalated afterward when Mr. Barr announced that he would not show up for a parallel hearing on Thursday before the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee. Mr. Barr objected to the format of questioning, which would have included questioning by staff lawyers, not just lawmakers. Democrats may now opt to subpoena him, setting up a possible showdown in court.
“He is terrified of having to face a skilled attorney,” said Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the committee’s chairman.
In just 11 weeks in office, Mr. Barr has become a lightning rod for criticism for minimizing the findings of Mr. Mueller’s report and publicly embracing the president’s explanations of his actions. Senate Democrats took the opportunity on Wednesday to excoriate him before a national television audience.
“Mr. Barr, now the American people know that you are no different from Rudy Giuliani or Kellyanne Conway or any of the other people who sacrifice their once decent reputation for the grifter and liar who sits in the Oval Office,” Senator Mazie K. Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, told him, likening the attorney general to the president’s personal lawyer and White House counselor.
“You put the power and authority of the office of the attorney general and the Department of Justice behind a public relations effort to help Donald Trump protect himself,” she added. “Finally, you lied to Congress.”
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and the committee chairman, scolded Ms. Hirono for being unfair. “You slandered this man from top to bottom,” he said.
The hearing was electric, one of those Washington moments when power, politics and passion meet before the klieg lights. At the center of the clash was nothing less than the presidency and the integrity of the law enforcement system, but the hours of back-and-forth reinforced the dueling realities defining the two parties.
Democrats skipped over the fact that Mr. Mueller accused Mr. Trump of no crime and instead focused on the evidence within his report that they still saw as proof of wrongdoing.
