Bill Barr belongs to Lindsey Graham -- and by proxy Donald Trump

According to an extensive New York Times report, Attorney General's allegiance belongs to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and because of their close relationship, President Donald Trump too.

Before Barr released special counsel Robert Mueller's extensive report on the Russia investigation, it was Graham's advice he sought. Over a steak dinner in a wood-paneled conference room, Barr and Graham shared their conspiracies about the officials who initially investigated Russia. They clearly abused their powers, the men thought.

"Maybe one of the most important things we'll ever do is clean up this mess," Graham said.

Barr began the "cleanup" less than two months later, when he wrote his own version of the Mueller report, lying about the findings.

Trump famously called for his own version of Roy Cohn to defend him at all costs, and miraculously, Barr became the loyal ally the president demanded.

"He is the closest thing we have to Dick Cheney," The Times quoted former DOJ official Charles Cooper. "He is a strong-willed man with a forceful personality" and "well-formed, deeply studied views."

In his CBS This Morning interview last week, Barr claimed there was "no evidence" that Trump is trying to undermine institutions. Curious given his work to defund so many departments, programs and began attacking NATO and the United Nations.

While Barr ignored the facts, he alleged that the investigators might have been the ones trying to bring down America's institutions.

"The idea of resisting a democratically elected president and basically throwing everything at him, and you know, really changing the norms on the grounds that we have to stop this president, that is where the shredding of our norms and institutions is occurring," Barr said.

When asked if they committed treason, he said "not as a legal matter," a contrast to what Trump has tweeted.

Graham, however, took it a step further, saying that Barr could create new rules using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to "spy" on a political campaign. He thinks it would prevent Trump or anyone else from being investigated for international coordination in the future.

Graham spent Sunday playing golf with Trump.

Read the full report at The Times.