Everyone wants to know what William Barr considers the limits of presidential power. Barr, if confirmed as attorney general, would be the top law enforcement officer of the country while working for President Trump, whose campaign is under federal investigation and who doesn’t have a reputation as a stickler for the law.

Barr has confused the Beltway by articulating two views that some people in our unnuanced political culture think are contradictory. He subscribes to the idea of the “unitary executive,” while also saying it would be “a breach of [the president’s] constitutional duty” to intervene in certain investigations.