I’m guessing that Barr has been hearing, behind the scenes, from Republicans uneasy with the absolute blatancy of the corruption of the DOJ helping Trump’s confederates (such as Stone) escape justice, while the Department simultaneously investigates Trump opponents (Durham looking at Brennan and others involved in the Russia probe).
Barr may be hearing that there are rumblings that would make him the fall guy for Trump’s amped-up lawlessness, post-acquittal.
So he’s trying to head that off with ever-so-slight criticisms of the way Trump has been completely open about his use of the DOJ as a personal instrument of vengeance. As jsc1953 intimated, Barr would like to see Trump be much less open about his use of the Department for fulfilling personal satisfactions.
Barr won’t quit unless he sees that as the only way to save himself; he’s doing too well out of the current arrangement. Someday we may know the full extent of the rewards he’s reaping—beyond the religious-fantasies stuff—by being Trump’s henchman. Whatever the full list is, he’s not going to give it up voluntarily unless he sees a prison sentence looming.
Or he recognizes that Stone will get slapped with double-time, because of Trump’s statement, so he can’t even wait to get called up in front of Congress, he has to go on the first interview request he gets and deny everything, or else the whole shebang to show everyone that “whistleblowers will be penalized and Omerta will be rewarded” falls apart.
Barr ain’t under oath, talking to ABC.
Heck, even when he’s talking to Congress, he only needs to be as honest as any paperwork they can get their hands on would show otherwise. If Trump gave him orders in private, mouth to ear, Barr can plead innocence all day everyday.
And, plausibly, Barr was acting entirely of his own to ensure that whistleblowers are punished and Omerta is rewarded. The Deputy AG does the day-to-day work. Barr’s job is to be politically active. There’s nothing to stop him from being a good employee and working proactively.
That may come, in due time. Possibly, he’s currently afflicted with a delusion that we’ve seen play out wrt so many of the America-hating fuckstick’s past appointees: the belief that HE will succeed in tempering the fuckstick’s predilection for outrageous behavior.
It’s an easy trap to fall into. In 1974, when I turned eighteen, I took up smoking cigarettes, just because I found it hard to believe that quitting would REALLY be that difficult for an intelligent, motivated, strong-willed fellow such as I (SPOILER ALERT: I didn’t put them down for good until 2001. And I STILL get the occasional craving).
Or, like Jeff Sessions before him, he believes that this is his chance to finally abuse the power of law to stick it to the people he’s spent his whole life hating (blacks for the former, non-Catholics for the latter), and damned if he’s going to let the fact that his enabler is a goddamned moron stand in his way.
That was my thought exactly upon hearing the news up to and including the use of pig Latin.
Yes its very hard to conspire to subvert Democracy, when one of your co-conspirators is standing there with a bull horn shouting “Hey, look we’re conspiring to subvert Democracy!”
Remember when Republicans thought it was a big deal that the husband of a presidential candidate meeting on a tarmac with the Attorney General. Was it just the location of the meeting that was the problem? Instead of meeting on a plane, if they had just openly colluded on twitter would everything have been fine?
Hey, if we don’t see the meteor coming (somehow), this is my preferred way to die. Just going about my day, la-de-da-de-da, and then WHAM - I’m dead, and everybody who might be unhappy I’m dead is also dead. Sure as hell beats personally suffering and then being mourned and missed after.
So bring it on! Preferably a nice big one, going about 0.1 c. That should do just fine.
And boy, this is an excellent touchstone to remember just how far we have fallen from normalcy.
I’m contacting the Senate Judiciary Committee today to demand an investigation into Barr’s antics, and you just gave me exactly the opening I wanted. Thank you! (Of course I don’t expect they will listen to me, but it’s good to make them a little nervous to know people are paying attention.)
