Susan Collins said Donald Trump has learned a lesson from his impeachment snafu, although when the president came out the very next day to declare his complete innocence of wrongdoing—"It was a perfect call!"—she adjusted her statement, saying she hoped he'd learned a lesson. Inspiring. But it does appear she's gotten her wish. The president learned the very important lesson that he is free to do whatever he wants and no one will stop him. Senate Republicans have granted him the power to attack our democracy for his own personal gain, so what now is beyond his purview?

In the days since his acquittal, he's gone about showing us what this new state of affairs means to him. He interfered in the sentencing of his chief ratfucker, railing against the supposedly harsh sentencing of Roger Stone until, miraculously, the Justice Department adjusted its recommendation the next day. He's pardoned a bunch of rich crooks, probably to prepare the ground for his inevitable pardons of Stone, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, and any other cronies that need to be rewarded for protecting The Boss, if only to show other cronies that absolute loyalty has its benefits.

The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has reacted to all this with virtual silence, apparently choosing to focus on healthcare messaging while the independent system of justice that forms the backbone of a democratic republic crumbles before our eyes. Trump has shown he will use the Justice Department to help Friends of Trump. How long until it serves to harm his enemies? It seems the Democrats—who, during the impeachment proceedings, appreciated that Trump's behavior would jeopardize the notion that the 2020 elections will be free and fair—have lost sight of their vital role in pushing back against that behavior and instituting whatever consequences they can.

Barr is shocked—SHOCKED!—that Trump would tweet about ongoing Justice Department matters. Chip Somodevilla Getty Images

Meanwhile, the free press, which has served as the main bulwark against Trump's rapacious authoritarianism for the lion's share of these three-plus years, is showing signs of strain. The weight of all the shameless lies is feeling heavy now. This has been particularly evident in coverage of the recent activities of one William Barr, Attorney General of the United States and pet toad of the president. Last week, some observers reacted credulously to an interview the AG did with ABC News, in which he put on a big show of being Very Upset that this president would tweet (!) about ongoing Justice Department matters. How could Barr ever have known this was a possibility before he joined Trump's administration two years in? Presumably, Barr just wants Trump to give him his marching orders out of public view. Don't tweet—just call me!

But the really credulous responses rolled in over the last two days, as Sources Close to Barr started telling every media outlet in sight that the attorney general might quit over Trump's interference in the Justice Department. Even a full day later, CBS News was reporting this story like Barr might actually resign, without much suggestion that this might be Barr telling his associates to tell CBS News that he might resign. These are not the same thing. CBS did say "it is unclear how serious Barr's consideration of quitting has been," but also shared a statement from a department spokesperson declaring that Barr had no plans to do so. The headline? "Barr has considered quitting over Trump's tweets about Justice Department." Seems like exactly the kind of thing he might've wanted.

Shocked! Drew Angerer Getty Images

While over 1,000 DoJ alumni have called for Barr's resignation on the basis he has corrupted the department to serve the president's whims rather than dole out impartial justice, the idea it's actually going to happen is absurd and no one should believe it. Barr took the job because he believes the president has essentially limitless powers, at least when the president is a Republican. This dates back to his role in the Iran-Contra scandal's aftermath, when he advised Bush the Elder to pardon everybody. He knew exactly who Trump was when he wrote an unsolicited 19-page memo attacking the Mueller probe in order to get the job. He knew he would serve as Trump's fixer, and began almost immediately by ratfucking the release of The Mueller Report with his infamous Letter.

Bill Barr is under no illusions about what the job entails, and he will do it until he is stopped. He has reportedly ordered a "re-examination" of the Flynn case, and you don't need Nostradamus to tell you how that's going to go. He was very badly mistreated! In fact, it seems he's appointed a new prosecutor to make sure of it, one of many new "outside prosecutors" that The New York Times reports have been assigned to "politically sensitive" cases. Again, you don't need an oracle here, just a healthy level of cynicism developed over three years of this bullshit. Barr's mandate is almost certainly to steer cases that could hurt the president politically—because many of his political and business associates have, uh, legal problems—to conclusions that aid the president. There is no reason to believe otherwise. He has done nothing to earn the benefit of the doubt.

This will be one of the major questions as the 2020 campaign begins in earnest, however: are people reporting on and observing this administration cynical enough? It's an old cliché about journos that they're disillusioned and pessimistic and distrustful of everything, but we'd better hope it's true. The attorney general is not undergoing some ethical crisis about the president's interference in his department that may cause him to resign. But we can expect these same kinds of stories to filter out all through the campaign, except instead of a bullshit story about Barr's Stations of the Cross, it will be rumors of an investigation into Bernie Sanders or Michael Bloomberg or Pete Buttigieg. Maybe it will be a real investigation. Let's not pretend Barr would have qualms about that. Saddle up folks, you're nearing the border of a banana republic.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

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