At the end of the William Barr segment on the June 18 Face the Nation, co-moderator Robert Costa asked, "Trump was indicted and arraigned in the records case.  Do you believe he is a target, potentially, in the January 6 case?"

Barr said, "Yes.  And, by the way, I defended him on cases that I think are unfair, like the one up in New York and so forth.  I think the January 6 case will be a hard case to make because of First Amendment interest.  But I am actually beginning to think they will pull the trigger on that.  I would expect it to be this summer."

If Barr were an honorable former public servant, committed to the rule of law, he would have put Costa in his place, rebuking him for apparently raising a trial balloon about a Jan. 6 indictment: if the House GOP does not express outrage, let the persecution campaign proceed.

Among his dishonorable attributes, however, Barr gave priority to hawking his book — prominently displayed at the start of the video — above fair treatment for the besieged former president.

Barr, in the earlier part of the video, accepted the oily Costa's invitation to badmouth Donald J. Trump to the utmost.   It was no surprise that, at the end of the chat, Barr predicted a Jan. 6 indictment by summer's end.  Not only did he denounce Pres. Trump as a "consummate narcissist," "fundamentally flawed," "reckless" in his conduct.  He also accused Trump of "deceitful conduct," of committing crimes — before thinking to add "if the allegations are true." 

Most despicably, Barr accused the former president of putting his ambition ahead of the country.  Behold Barr's variation on a theme of Trump, the colluding-with-the-Russians president.  How can we expect Barr to rebuke Costa for Trump-baiting when he is so good at being a Trump backstabber?

Image: Office of Public Affairs.