WASHINGTON — Attorney General William Barr pushed back Wednesday at complaints from Robert Mueller over his handling of the Russia investigation report, leveling his own criticism at the special counsel as simmering tensions between the Justice Department and Mueller’s team broke into public view in unusual fashion.

Testifying for the first time since releasing Mueller’s report, Barr said he was surprised Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether President Donald Trump had tried to obstruct justice, and that he felt compelled to step in with his own judgment that the president had committed no crime. Barr also complained that Mueller’s report did not, as requested, clearly flag sensitive material, creating weeks of work for the Justice Department as it moved to redact grand jury material that was not intended for the public.

“I’m not really sure of his reasoning,” Barr said of Mueller’s decision to not reach a conclusion on obstruction of justice. He suggested that Mueller “shouldn’t have investigated” acts on which he did not plan to reach a prosecution judgment.

Barr’s public defense of his actions rebutted complaints by Mueller, expressed in a letter and phone call, that the attorney general had not adequately portrayed the investigation’s findings. The revelation of that letter hours earlier amplified allegations from Democrats that Barr had spun the investigation’s findings in Trump’s favor.

Democrats were also likely to accuse him of misleading lawmakers last month when he suggested he was unaware of concerns on the Mueller team about his actions.

Barr’s appearance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee gave the attorney general his most extensive opportunity to explain the department’s actions, including his news conference held before the report’s release, and for him to repair a reputation bruised by allegations that he’s the Republican president’s protector.

While Democratic senators bluntly questioned his actions, Republicans, in addition to defending Trump, focused on the president’s 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton’s email and campaign practices and what they feel is a lack of investigation of them.