--- title: William Barr Is on the 2020 TIME 100 List description: Find out why William Barr is one of the 100 most influential people of 2020. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888313/william-barr-attorney-general/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-09-22T18:50:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-07-21T07:21:59.329Z og:title: William Barr: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 og:description: Find out why William Barr is on this year’s list og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888313/william-barr-attorney-general/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt733da2c9188ee823/698a1253e76ad2de406381b9/time-100-William-Barr.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: William Barr: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: William Barr: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020 twitter:description: Find out why William Barr is on this year’s list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt733da2c9188ee823/698a1253e76ad2de406381b9/time-100-William-Barr.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 22, 2020 # William Barr by Tessa Berenson  \*\*HIRES FOR ILLO\*\* WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 28: U.S. Attorney General William Barr is sworn in before testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. In his first congressional testimony in more than a year, Barr is expected to face questions from the committee about his deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Portland, Oregon, and other cities in response to Black Lives Matter protests; his role in using federal agents to violently clear protesters from Lafayette Square near the White House last month before a photo opportunity for President Donald Trump in front of a church; his intervention in court cases involving Trump's allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn; and other issues. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) \*\*HIRES FOR ILLO\*\* WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 28: U.S. Attorney General William Barr is sworn in before testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on July 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. In his first congressional testimony in more than a year, Barr is expected to face questions from the committee about his deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Portland, Oregon, and other cities in response to Black Lives Matter protests; his role in using federal agents to violently clear protesters from Lafayette Square near the White House last month before a photo opportunity for President Donald Trump in front of a church; his intervention in court cases involving Trump's allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn; and other issues. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images When [President Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart](https://time.com/5685947/trump-ukraine-call/ "undefined") on July 25, 2019, that he would have [William Barr](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567756/william-barr/ "undefined") give him a call, Trump immortalized Barr’s role in the politically motivated pressure campaign that led to the [third presidential impeachment in U.S. history](https://time.com/5751699/donald-trump-impeached/ "undefined"). But the fateful 30-minute conversation was just one example of how Barr, more than any other Attorney General since the [Watergate era](https://time.com/3085905/richard-nixon-resignation-anniversary-watergate-time-covers/ "undefined"), has emerged as a protector of his boss. In his first months on the job, Barr spun in Trump’s favor investigations by special counsel [Robert Mueller](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-robert-mueller-runner-up/ "undefined") and Inspector General Michael Horowitz. He pushed foreign governments to help with a third probe of Trump’s perceived enemies in the FBI. Barr surged forces to American cities that Trump attacked as “Democrat-led.” He walked beside Trump through Lafayette Square in June after [peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters had been violently cleared by federal agents.](https://time.com/5847094/washington-protests-trump/ "undefined") At stake is the Justice Department’s reputation for independent law enforcement. It’s not clear whether Barr is guided by loyalty to Trump or a belief in sweeping Executive power. Either way, he has proved himself a top defender of the President. Trump [famously criticized his previous Attorney General](https://time.com/5203216/trump-sessions-timeline/ "undefined") for what he saw as a failure to protect him. He didn’t have to worry about William Barr. _Berenson is TIME’s White House correspondent_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888313/william-barr-attorney-general/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888313/william-barr-attorney-general/"},"headline":"William Barr","datePublished":"2020-09-22T18:50:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-07-21T07:21:59.329Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888313/william-barr-attorney-general/","keywords":["TIME 100","T100 2020","T100 2020 Leaders"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt733da2c9188ee823/698a1253e76ad2de406381b9/time-100-William-Barr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt733da2c9188ee823/698a1253e76ad2de406381b9/time-100-William-Barr.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2020/5888313/william-barr-attorney-general/","name":"William Barr"}}]}] ```