(CNN) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Attorney General William Barr committed a crime when he testified before Congress.

"The attorney general of the United States of America was not telling the truth to the Congress of the United States. That's a crime," Pelosi told reporters at her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill.

Barr has come under scrutiny for telling Congress last month that he didn't know whether special counsel Robert Mueller supported Barr's description of the report in his summary.

The Justice Department disputed Pelosi's description minutes after her comments were made. "The baseless attack on the Attorney General is reckless, irresponsible and false," Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said.

Pelosi was asked again during the question and answer part of the news conference if Barr committed a crime and if he should go to jail. She said that he "lied to Congress" and "if anybody else did that, it would be considered a crime," but didn't directly answer if he should go to jail as a result.

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