Damned if you do....

No. Bill Barr should not get the benefit of the doubt. He doesn't have to be told what to do in order to help Trump and his friends. If he really finds it "impossible" to do his job, he should resign. He should also defend his people. https://t.co/5ZeDUhhTO7

— Elizabeth de la Vega (@Delavegalaw) February 13, 2020

Damned if you don't.

Did Barr act "unprompted," as he claims?  Then he's a damned fool who shouldn't be in charge of the DOJ, micromanaging his staff by second-guessing their filings in court so publicly.  Who speaks for the DOJ in court?  The lawyers who appear on behalf of the U.S.?  Or the USAG, who may or may not swoop in and change the filings presented on behalf of the government?  And this is NOT the first time this has happened.  To put it mildly, courts don't like this kind of shit.

Did Barr act in response to Trump's tweet, dancing like a puppet on a string?  Then there is no defense for his actions, and his interview is a pack of lies meant to get some positive PR for himself and Trump, and the DOJ can pound sand.  Indeed, Barr has said nothing publicly about the lawyers who pulled themselves from the case, or the one lawyer who resigned altogether.  How's morale in the DOJ?  How many other attorneys are wondering how micromanaged they are going to be, and when, and how publicly are they going to be humiliated?  These are professionals who make representations to judges in open court that are meant to be reliable and relied upon, and now the courts may have to assume whatever is filed in court may be subject to replacement without notice.  At that point the courts start to wonder who is in charge of the government's case in their court.  On this profound litigation issue, Barr is silent.  He won't be pressured.  But he will exert pressure.  How and why are entirely up to him.

It's not nearly as reassuring as it sounds like it is.  Like Trump, he wants to do his job without anybody paying attention to how he's doing that job.  Trump wants to conduct all the business of the country in private, with nobody listening and reporting when he doesn't know what he's doing (he never does) and when he wanders off into criminal behavior (as common as his lies).  Barr wants to follow Trump's lead.

To put it mildly, we the people shouldn't put up with this kind of shit.  But our elected representatives in the Senate think it's just fine.