An apparent attack on Donald Trump by attorney general Bill Barr is in fact a cynical ploy, Former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele has said.

Mr Barr had appeared to complain that the president’s tweets and public statements obstructed his work, saying: “I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.

“I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases.”

In response, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told Fox News that Mr Trump “wasn’t bothered by the comments at all.”

However, Mr Steele, who led the Republican party between 2009 and 2011, dismissed Mr Barr’s rebuke to Mr Trump and the White House’s uncharacteristically diplomatic response as part of an effort to quiet dissent at the Department of Justice.

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Citing the White House’s unusually pragmatic reaction to Mr Barr’s remarks, Mr Steele tweeted: “Slow your roll if you think Barr is breaking from Trump.

“This was a carefully staged message to cool down pissed off DOJ attys whom Barr undercut & to avoid any further internal strife.

“This message does not get sideways with Trump because he’s already done what Trump wanted.”

Mr Barr’s unusually critical remarks came after his department advised prosecutors to reduce their recommended sentence for Trump ally Roger Stone, who has been convicted of crimes including obstruction of justice and lying to Congress.

The department did so after Mr Trump tweeted that the sentence was excessive. The move raised an outcry from Democrats and others concerned the president is trying to exert direct influence over the judiciary.

In the ABC interview, Mr Barr both acknowledged this concern and sought to dismiss it, saying that Mr Trump “has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case.”

He also maintained he would resist outside pressure: “I’m not going to be bullied or influenced by anybody … whether it’s Congress, newspaper editorial boards, or the president.”

Mr Barr is scheduled to testify before the Democrat-led House judiciary committee on 31 March, having finally accepted an invitation that he has resisted for a year.

He is expected to be asked about subjects including Mr Stone’s case and his handling of the fallout from Robert Mueller’s investigation into Mr Trump’s presidential campaign.

Mr Steele chaired the Republican National Committee during the first two years of Barack Obama’s presidency, at a time when the party was being increasingly influenced by the grassroots Tea Party movement.