WASHINGTON _ House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler opened his first hearing with William Barr on Tuesday by asking the Attorney General about his recent false statement on the number of arrests in Kansas City under Operation LeGend.
"You misspoke," Nadler said.
"Correct," Barr replied.
Barr could not speak to the precise number of arrests that were made under the nascent operation, which was launched in Kansas City and has since been expanded to Chicago and Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Barr had previously claimed, in an event livestreamed by the White House, that the FBI "went in very strong into Kansas City and within two weeks we've had 200 arrests." But Justice Department officials clarified that a large majority of those arrests occurred under a program that started in the 2019, called Operation Relentless Pursuit.
At least six arrests have been made since July 17 under Operation LeGend in Kansas City, which included FBI agents assisting with the apprehension of a man wanted for second-degree murder. Other arrests have led to illegal firearm and drug charges.
On Tuesday, another suspect wanted for second-degree murder, Antoine Cotton, was charged in Jackson County for allegedly beating a man to death in June in northeast Kansas City. FBI agents assigned to Operation LeGend assisted local police in surveillance in the case, court records show.
"I think you could be forgiven for being confused," Nadler said. "Operation LeGend appears to be little more than a repackaging of existing operations in these cities. So why all the drama? Why join the president at the White House to announce a bold new operation that appears to be neither bold nor new?"
Citizens may be wary of Barr's motives, Nadler continued.
"There are those who believe you are sending federal law enforcement into these cities not to combat violent crime, but to help with the president's reelection efforts," he said.
Barr said President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has been a topic of conversation in Cabinet meetings, but denied that it has come up in the context of Operation LeGend.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Kansas City has said nearly 200 arrests had been made locally as part of Operation Relentless Pursuit, an initiative announced in December that combined federal, state and local resources to combat violent crime in Kansas City and six other cities, including Detroit and Baltimore.
Those arrests were made during the first phase of Operation Relentless Pursuit, which came to a halt as the new coronavirus pandemic spread across the country.
"However, in the intervening time, we saw violent crime continuing to rise, and a lot of that was triggered by the events after the death of George Floyd," Barr said, mentioning Floyd's killing by police in Minneapolis. "So we did reboot the program after COVID started breaking, and we could commit the law enforcement resources to actually accomplish the mission, which is to reduce violent crime."
The new federal operation was named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was fatally shot while sleeping last month in Kansas City.
The combative hearing was the first time Barr had appeared before the judiciary committee, Nadler said, citing the Congressional Research Service, counting both Barr's tenure as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush in the 1990s and his current post under Trump.
"Welcome," Nadler said.
