Attorney general William Barr has said Donald Trump’s tweets about the sentencing of Roger Stone made it “impossible for me to do my job” – and insisted he would not be “bullied” by the president.

In a rare rebuke of the man for whom many said he performed the duties of a personal lawyer, and who has repeatedly defended through various controversies, Mr Barr said the president had never asked him to interfere in a case.

Yet, he said Mr Trump’s tweets about the sentence recommendations for Stone, which came after the department of justice has drawn up recommendations, had created major problems.

“I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody ... Whether it’s congress, a newspaper editorial board, or the president,” Mr Barr told ABC News.

“I’m gonna do what I think is right. And you know – I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.”

All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Show all 6 1 /6 All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Alan Dershowitz Dershowitz is a controversial American lawyer best known for the high-profile clients he has successfully defended. Those clients have included OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. One longtime Harvard Law associated told the New Yorker Dershowitz "revels in taking positions that ultimately are not just controversial but pretty close to indefensible." Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Ken Starr Starr became a household name in the 1990s as the independent counsel who led the investigation that led to Bill Clinton's impeachment. That investigation began as a look into a real estate scandal known as Whitewater, and eventually led to impeachment after Mr Clinton lied under oath about having an affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. AP All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Jay Sekulow Sekulow is the president's longtime personal attorney, and, now, personal lawyer in the White House. He has been accused by former Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas of being "in the loop" during the Ukraine scandal. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pam Bondi Bondi is the former attorney general in Florida, and a longtime backer of the president's. She made a name for herself in Florida for taking hyper partisan stances on issues, and her penchant for publicity. She is likely to be a prominent public-facing figure during the trial. AFP/Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Pat Cipollone Cipollone is the White House counsel, and leading the president's defence team. Getty All the president's lawyers: The team fighting Trump's impeachment Rudy Giuliani While not officially named as one of the president's impeachment lawyers, it is hard to ignore Giuliani's outsized role in this process. The former mayor of New York has been making headlines for months as he defends his client, and for his apparent role in the effort to compel Ukraine to launch the investigation into Joe Biden. We'll see how he figures in the actual trial, which he has said he would like to be a part of. Reuters

Mr Barr, 69, joined the Trump administration in February 2019, replacing Jeff Sessions, who had a mercurial spell as attorney general. It was the second time Mr Barr had occupied the role, having previously served as the nation’s top legal and law enforcement official under George HW Bush.

As such, he took on the role with considerable experience and respect from the Republican and legal establishment.

Much of that was destroyed when he went to bat for Mr Trump once Robert Mueller published his report into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

While Mr Mueller highlighted 10 possible instances of obstruction of justice by the president, it was Mr Barr who took the decision that the evidence did not not meet the level required for the president’s prosecution.

Trump interference in Roger Stone case is 'abuse of power' Pelosi says

As such Mr Barr’s comments are all the more significant and potentially damaging to the president. No other serving member of his cabinet has chastised him like this, especially in regard to his loved use of social media.

The attorney general spoke out after his department was forced to respond to a demand from the president to review the sentencing recommendations for Stone, who was last year found guilty on seven charges relating to Mr Mueller’s Russia probe.

Federal prosecutors had recommended seven to nine years, but that was altered after the president tweeted: “This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!”

Asked if he would rather the president stopped tweeting, Mr Barr said: “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about department of justice criminal cases.”

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on Mr Barr’s explosive interview

Asked if he was prepared for the possible consequences of publicly criticising the president, Mr Barr said “of course”. He said his job was to run the justice department and make decisions on “what I think is the right thing to do”.

He added: “As I said at my confirmation hearing, I think the essential role of the attorney general is to keep law enforcement, the criminal process sacrosanct to make sure there is no political interference in it.