Attorney General William Barr slammed Donald Trump’s tweet about Roger Stone’s sentencing recommendation, telling ABC News the president’s posts make it “impossible” to do his job. “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” Barr said. “I cannot do my job here at the department with a constant background commentary that undercuts me.” The attorney general denied that Trump had anything to do with the department’s choice to override prosecutors’ original sentencing recommendation for Stone, calling the notion “preposterous.” “I’m happy to say that, in fact the president has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case,” he said. Barr also doubled-down on previous claims that the DOJ decision was made the night before Trump’s tweet. “Do you go forward with what you think is the right decision or do you pull back because of the tweet? And that just sort of illustrates how disruptive these tweets can be,” he said.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued a statement in response to Barr’s comments saying Trump “wasn’t bothered” by the remarks and that Barr “has the right,  just like any American citizen, to publicly offer his opinions.” Grisham also said the president has “full faith and confidence in Attorney General Barr to do his job and uphold the law.”