Richard Burr has become the latest villain du jour among his fellow Republican Party politicians.

How did the Senate Intelligence Committee chairman attract this label? All he did was subpoena Donald J. Trump Jr. to testify before his committee to talk about matters involving that nasty ol’ Russia matter involving Don Jr.’s father, the president of the United States.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared the Russia story is “closed.” He wants to move on. He wants the Senate to stop talking about it. He has declared that Donald Sr. has been cleared of collusion with Russians who attacked our election in 2016 as well as with obstruction of justice allegations that, well, are still out there.

Other GOP pols have declared their disgust, anger, outrage at Burr’s decision to summon Don Jr. to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Let me remind everyone of this fact: Sen. Burr is not running for re-election in 2022.

Burr was re-elected to a third Senate term in 2016, but that’s it. He’s now no longer looking for votes, nor is he tied to blind fealty of the Trump “base” of supporters that gets all riled at any mention by politicians who want to find out the whole truth about the way Trump campaigned for the presidency.

Yes, indeed. Lame-duck status does have this liberating effect on politicians.