The first clue Barr was a bad choice was him working as the AG for Bush Sr’s administration. It’s not a surprise Barr disappointed and it was yet another bad hire by Trump in his cabinet.
The first I ever heard of Barr was his op-ed which hit every note on how Trump was being unfairly maligned, how his enemies were breaking the law, basically everything any Trump supporter wanted to hear.
I didn’t see otherwise here on FR until well after he was appointed as AG. Wouldn’t have mattered what I knew anyway.