A Bright guy. A Barr guy. A Donald Barr guy.
His dad, a convert from Judaism to Catholicism, was a very tough headmaster. Too tough for Dalton, which eventually fired him. Just right for the Hackley School in Tarrytown which needed someone who believed in authority.
Bill Barr, too. Committed to authority, especially Republicans in authority
Early in his career, in the Department of Justice, he advised President GHW Bush that an invasion of Panama to arrest its president, Manuel Noriega, was justified. Eventually appointed Attorney General, he argued for increasing the US rate of incarceration and recommended that Bush pardon officials such as Caspar Weinberger after the Iran-Contra affair.
He had a 13 year hiatus from public involvement while serving as General Counsel for GTE. He returned to the public sector as AG under Donald Trump. He criticized the Mueller investigation then mischaracterized its findings. He has defied subpoenas for records and buried every recommendation for Trump to be prosecuted. To the extent possible, he has protected Trump from Congressional the impeachment processes.