Of FBI agents, Barr says, "These people are agents of the attorney general ... whose agents do you think you are? I don't say this in a pompous way. But that is the chain of authority and legitimacy in the Department of Justice."

Barr argues that politically appointed leaders (like himself) are accountable to POTUS & Congress. Line prosecutors are not. And they have political views, too. "The Justice Dept. is not a Praetorian guard that watches over society, impervious to the ebbs and flows of politics."

Barr says America is becoming like eastern European country. "Now you have to call your adversary a criminal, and instead of beating them politically, you try to put them in jail...If you’re not in power, you’re in jail -- or you’re a member of the press."

In Q&A, Barr is now on coronavirus response. Asked about suicides amid shutdowns, Barr basically makes the case doctors should not be the final word on society's response. A doc, he said, is not the "grand seer."

Barr says doc might tell you to take certain steps to live 20 years longer, but you might say "I don’t want to pay those costs to live 20 years longer. I'd rather take my chances." He adds, "I understand there are externalities here, & you can’t threaten other people’s lives."

He insists the question is not one of pure science. He says you have to balance benefit of shutdown "against a lot of other factors." Suicides, overdoses are up, he says.
"All this nonsense about how something is dictated by science is nonsense," he says.

Barr also attacks Black Lives Matter. "They’re not interested in black lives," he says. "They’re interested in props, a small number of blacks who are killed by police during conflicts with police ... who they can use as props to achieve a much broader political agenda."