Attorney General William Barr should be viewed as the antithesis of former FBI Director James Comey in his handling of the conclusion of the Russia investigation, Washington Free Beacon editor Matthew Continetti said Tuesday.
In an appearance on Special Report, Continetti told the Fox News panel that Barr's by-the-book conduct stood in stark contrast to Comey, whose public comments on the Hillary Clinton email investigation sullied his reputation with Republicans and Democrats.
Barr testified Tuesday he would release a partially redacted version of Robert Mueller's report to the public within a week, sticking to his goal of having it published by mid-April. However, he angered Democrats when he said he wouldn't give Congress the full, unredacted report.
According to Barr's letter last month summarizing the report, Mueller concluded there was no conspiracy between Donald Trump's campaign and the Russians. Barr annoyed Democrats with his letter summarizing Mueller's findings, with some claiming it was a whitewash to protect the White House.
Among the Democrats frustrated with Barr was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.), who said Tuesday Barr hadn't earned trust with his conduct.
Continetti joked he was "shocked" that Schumer doubted Barr's credibility, due to the partisan nature of the debate.
"We've gone from a Trump-Russia conspiracy, which seems to have been disproven by Mueller's investigation, to a Trump-Barr conspiracy, which has been quickly adopted by the Democrats as the new political play," he said. "The way to understand Barr is to view him as the anti-Comey. He's done everything by the book, in contrast to the way that Comey went ahead and inserted himself into the public sphere with his announcements about the investigations."
Continetti noted Barr cited regulations about his letter summarizing the Mueller report and that the special counsel's office had offered no objections about his decision to send it.