George Conway suggested Attorney General William Barr s recent pushback against President Donald Trump and his constant background commentary was more likely a warning for the president to be more discreet than an attempt to uphold the Department of Justices integrity.

Conway, a fierce Trump critic and husband to presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway , penned a Washington Post op-ed published Saturday, after Barr complained in an ABC News interview on Thursday that the presidents commentary on and off Twitter makes it impossible for me to do my job.

He wasnt actually standing up for the Justice Departments integrity, or its independence, or for the rule of law, Conway said of Barrs comments, which came after Trump thanked him in a tweet for taking charge of the case against Roger Stone. The tweet appeared to confirm that Barr had intervened to walk back Stones recommended sentence after Trump raged about the original recommendation for his longtime friend, who was convicted in November for witness tampering and lying to Congress.

Conway continued: To the contrary, as his (and my) friend Fox News host Laura Ingraham put it, Barr was basically telling Trump, dont worry I got this. In other words, dont blow this by calling attention to all that I do for you. Dont say the quiet part out loud.

(Ingraham, a devoted Trump defender, had mocked the media for pouncing on the sexy story of Barr breaking from Trump, saying that theyd missed the fact that Barr was actually telling the president he had his back.)

Citing an incident last year when the White House arranged for the name of the naval warship USS John McCain to be obscured before Trumps visit to Japan, Conway argued that Trumps subordinates had learned to deal with matters that could draw his ire preemptively.

Anticipating Trumps narcissistic whims and desires in just this fashion remains the key to survival in his administration, and outside the White House proper, no one does it better than Barr, Conway wrote, highlighting the attorney generals repeated interventions on the presidents behalf.

Democrats and more than 1,000 former DOJ officials have called for Barrs resignation over his actions, which they have labeled a threat to democracy.

Other Trump critics had warned that Barrs pushback should be taken with a grain of salt. Several lawmakers, political pundits and news hosts suggested the comments may have been a coordinated attempt between him and the president to limit the fallout over Stones botched sentencing.

Conway says Barr tried to communicate a hidden meaning to the president with his critique but warns the message will fall on deaf ears.

But the president will never listen, and what Barr does for him will never be enough, Conway concluded.

So Trump wants to say the quiet part out loud; he wants to say hes got this. And theres no one to stop him now.