BUSTED: Missouri paper catches Bill Barr lying about federal sweeps of Kansas City

On Thursday, The Kansas City Starcaught Attorney General William Barr in a lie about arrests made in Kansas City, Missouri while justifying the federal government's controversial "Operation Legend."

"When U.S. Attorney General William Barr announced Wednesday the expansion of federal anti-crime initiatives, he baffled officials in Kansas City with a single statement. 'Just to give you an idea of what’s possible, the FBI went in very strong into Kansas City and within two weeks we’ve had 200 arrests,' Barr said of apprehensions made as part of a new effort called Operation Legend," reported Luke Nozicka, Bryan Lowry, and Cortlynn Stark. "But after inquiries from The Star and pushback from local officials, a senior Justice Department official clarified Barr’s comments, saying the 200 figure included state and FBI arrests in joint operations dating back to December as part of another operation, Relentless Pursuit."

"Barr’s false claim, livestreamed by the White House, raised questions about the Justice Department’s trustworthiness," continued the report. "And the point Barr apparently was illustrating only grew shakier Thursday as officials in Kansas City clarified further that the arrests that did occur resulted in no new federal charges — with the exception of one case announced earlier this week."

The Trump administration has drawn outrage over the surge of federal troops being deployed to cities around the United States, some of them clashing with protesters and detaining them in unmarked vehicles.