I don't for a second believe that it is a coincidence that a private letter reportedly sent from Robert Mueller to A.G. William Barr was leaked the day before his round of congressional testimony was set to begin. The New York Times and Washington Post published accounts within minutes of each other, which indicates a strategy being employed by either Mueller or his staff, in order to damage Barr and shape his testimony. The Times' headline alone is red meat for Dems: Mueller Objected to Barr's Description of Russia Investigation's Findings on Trump.

Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William P. Barr objecting to his early description of the Russia investigation's conclusions that appeared to clear President Trump on possible obstruction of justice, according to the Justice Department and three people with direct knowledge of the communication between the two men. The letter adds to the growing evidence of a rift between them and is another sign of the anger among the special counsel's investigators about Mr. Barr's characterization of their findings, which allowed Mr. Trump to wrongly claim he had been vindicated. It was unclear what specific objections Mr. Mueller raised in his letter[.]



Caricature by Donkey Hotey.

That last line is the perfect tee-up for angry questioning of Barr. He speaks to the GOP-controlled Senate today and may or may not show up for a House hearing Thursday. But the letter reportedly did not say Barr was inaccurate.

Chairman Jerrold Nadler is trying to set up a television show designed to make Barr look bad, by using the format of a prosecution: a staff lawyer grilling Barr for 30 minutes at a time, instead of five minutes per committee member, the normal approach.

That allows surprise questions and follow-up questions that can't be answered immediately owing to the need for research and preparation. It's the format used in the Watergate hearings, which is exactly the association intended by Nadler and his nabobs.

Barr will not walk into that trap and will refuse to appear, even if subpoenaed. Eric Holder set the precedent of an A.G. refusing to honor a congressional subpoena and suffering no prosecution.

This is all theater, a bone being tossed to the rabid Trump-haters lusting after impeachment. It would not surprise me if the House moved to impeach Barr after he snubs their subpoena. They may calculate that the public would not be as outraged by this as by impeachment of Trump and that their own fanatics would be appeased.

With the full-throated support of the media, they might get their way.