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Is it time for that Garland "thank you" diary? [1]

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Date: 2023-06-23

After multiple reports that the DOJ was dragging its feet on a number of Trump investigations, after multiple members of Congress have called out the DOJ for lack of progress, after reports that there are concerns about the lack of accountability coming from behind the scenes at the White House, after reports that Garland and other senior DOJ officials were surprised by the J6th committee’s findings, after reporting that Garland only began to act on Trump’s investigations after public outcry about his department’s lack of action, after waiting for almost 2 years to appoint Jack Smith (when he could have been appointed the day Garland took office) and after numerous former prosecutors have taken the DOJ to task for its timid response to Trump’s criminality….. is it time for that “thank you Mr. Garland” diary we all know is coming?

Well, before you click that publish button on a diary explaining against all witnessed evidence that Merrick Garland is the best at something something and we need to “give them time to build a case”…. I encourage you to read this summary of a new WSJ article on Raw Story.

The Journal's Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman reported that the DOJ was reluctant to proceed with indicting a former president and there was a hope that an "off-ramp" would spare Attorney General Merrick Garland from pursuing criminal charges.

Please explain to me how you or I would get an “off-ramp” if we took HIGHLY classified government documents related to our nuclear capabilities, our attack plans against a foreign adversary, or information about our allies' human assets.

Did Reality Winner get an “off-ramp” for taking ONE document? How about Kendra Kingsbury who was just sentenced to 3 years and 10 months for just TWO counts of unlawfully retaining documents related to national defense? Did Garland look for an “off-ramp” in that case?

"Some officials at the time, even with evidence Trump might have obstructed the response to the May 11, 2022, subpoena demanding the production of classified documents, said their main interest in conducting the Mar-a-Lago search was to return any such material to the government’s possession."

As in, the DOJ would have looked the other way on blatant criminal behavior if Trump had just given back the documents even after numerous “pretty please” requests were ignored.

Kendra Kingburry was charged with “retaining documents” not disseminating them. Even if Trump just had the documents in his possession and the DOJ didn’t have evidence he shared them with anyone, he STILL committed a crime, the same crime that Kingsburry received almost 4 years for. Yet the DOJ was just going to walk away from Trump’s criminality? And I am supposed to applaud this?

Adding that "authorities appeared at times to give Trump’s team the benefit of the doubt," the Journal report notes, "In bringing the case, Smith appears to be continuing to take a careful approach, charging dozens of counts but deferring to Trump’s legal team in other ways that are unusual, compared with how the Justice Department treats most federal criminal defendants facing similar charges."

I am FUCKING SICK of Trump getting special treatment like a child throwing a tantrum inside a crowded movie theater!

We shouldn’t be THANKING Merrick Garland, we should be holding his feet to the fire.

There are plenty of Democratic superstars that I absolutely love, but I wouldn’t hesitate for one second to call them out if they weren’t doing their jobs. That’s exactly how a functioning society and government should work.

I don’t know why some people continue to support Garland no matter what. It's like unshakable hero worship that I don’t understand. It’s very clear that he would like to “move past” Trump and look to the future or some shit. He is very concerned about the institution of the DOJ, but it’s pretty clear the DOJ is acting with great timidity when it comes to holding Trump and his enablers accountable.

So far I am HIGHLY impressed by Jack Smith, I think he is exactly the right person for the job. But I for one will not applaud Garland’s inaction or give him a “Thank you” until HE DOES HIS OWN F’N JOB and his JOB is to uphold the law no matter who is involved. Appointing Jack Smith is a good first step, but I fear Garland is still holding a leash on him and either way, it might be too late to settle any of this in court before the ‘24 election… a VERY bad outcome that should also be placed at Garland’s feet.

Oh, and last point. I don’t hate Garland and I am not saying he is a bad person (Bill Barr is a bad person that I happen to despise). I just feel Garland is too timid, he is hardly the savior many on the left think he is. He is an institutionalist and his years on the bench have made him into an overly cautious pragmatist when these times call for a hard-charging prosecutor.

I am not saying Jack Smith should be running the DOJ, I don’t think he has that type of experience…. but I ask Garland defenders to stop and think about this one question, where would we be now if Jack Smith were sworn in as Attorney General in March of 2021?

We all have to admit that the pace has picked up greatly with the addition of Jack Smith in the mix. This goes to show that the leadership qualities of a single individual at the top of any organization will have an effect on that organization’s output. Given the above hypothetical situation, I am as positive as possible that we would be in a much different (and probably better) place now if someone as fearless as Jack Smith were in charge of the DOJ since early 2021.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/23/2177139/-Is-it-time-for-that-Garland-thank-you-diary

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