That argument, wholly specious, was featured in his now widely reported unsolicited job application sent to the Justice Department in June of 2018. It fits neatly with another one of Barr’s contentions - that presidential authority over the executive branch makes it impossible for Trump to obstruct justice.

Since anger and frustration describe the president pretty much on a daily basis, this innovative legal theory will enable a lot more obstruction.

Within days, Barr followed those dangerous and inane comments by presenting Trump’s “anger and frustration” with the Mueller investigation as a justification for obstruction of justice. In the same hearing, Barr also refused to assert that the Mueller investigation was not a “witch hunt,” saying merely, “It depends on where you sit.” Donald Trump, who views any measure intended to protect us from future election interference as an affront to the magnitude of his 2016 victory, no doubt was delighted. Seeking to define the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s well documented attacks on our electoral system, Barr previously settled on “spying.” When asked by Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire at his April testimony before Congress to retract that term, he paused, reconsidered, and repeated the accusation. Barr’s behavior in the six weeks since he received US Senate confirmation has been nothing if not consistent:

Humpty dumpty through the looking glass