As Attorney General William Barr has made very clear since becoming Donald Trump’s attorney general, he’s more than happy—nay, thrilled—to do the president’s personal bidding. When Robert Mueller released his report that in no way cleared Trump of obstruction? There was Barr, telling the world that his boss had been exonerated. When lawmakers asked if it was a crime for the president to instruct White House aides to lie to investigators, as he did in the case of Don McGahn? There was Barr insisting such behavior was totally fine. When an “urgent” whistle-blower report arose concerning Trump’s behavior toward Ukraine? Barr didn’t feel any particular need for it to be passed it on to Congress. The list goes on, but you get the idea.

What Barr didn’t sign up for, and what he’s tried to relay of late, is having Trump tweet and otherwise broadcast the fact that the A.G. is fully on board with corrupting the Department of Justice for the 45th president’s benefit. Last week, for instance, Barr sat down with ABC News and told chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas that Trump‘s tweets are making it “impossible” for him to do his job. Some people took that to mean the A.G. didn’t appreciate Trump inserting himself in DOJ matters, though clearly the message he was trying to get through the thick layer of Hamburger Helper surrounding Trump’s brain was that the tweets make it all too obvious what the men are up to. Asked if he expected Trump to react to his criticisms, Barr responded: “I hope he will react.” “And respect it?” Thomas asked. “Yes,” Barr said.

Of course, asking Trump to stop tweeting is like asking another human to refrain from breathing and, naturally, he’s done nothing of the sort. On Tuesday, Trump kicked off the morning by musing that he might sue anyone involved in the Russia investigation and suggested that Roger Stone, his buddy who was found guilty of lying to Congress, should get a new trial. Little incidents like this have apparently left Barr with no choice but to up the ante, per the Washington Post: