Mr. President, Attorney General Barr’s performance in yesterday’s Judiciary Committee hearing was abysmal, raising all types of questions about his willingness to be a faithful steward of the law. But of several outlandish claims, one stood out — one that should send shivers down the spine of anyone who believes in this democracy. It would probably send shivers down the spines of the Founding Fathers if they heard the attorney general say what he said. Because Attorney General Barr said yesterday that the president could not have obstructed justice because he believed he was falsely accused.

But he even went further. He made a broad principle. Here’s what he said ... he said that if an investigation is, quote, “based on false allegations, the president does not have to sit there constitutionally and allow it to run its course. The president could terminate that proceeding and not have it be corrupt intent because he was falsely accused.”

What a statement! What a statement. If the president himself believes he was falsely accused, he can ... terminate any investigation or proceeding against him? Any at all? And is that determination in the president’s own head and nobody else’s?