(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Concern grows at slowdown of Jan. 6 rioter arrests as clock ticks down on statute of limitations [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-08-07

Remember while you read this from today’s APR, we are told that the DOJ was building a case for a solid year.

Many of Trump’s pre-January 6 actions that Smith cites in his indictment — such as his lobbying of swing state legislators, his organizing of “alternate” elector slates in key states, and his pressuring of Vice President Mike Pence — unfolded at least partly in plain sight or were reported by journalists at the time. Throughout most and perhaps all of 2021, none of that seems to have been the focus of an investigation by the Justice Department, and in fact, proposals to investigate them were reportedly rejected by DOJ or FBI officials.

Also, let’s not forget another in a long line of data points, the Michigan Attorney General referred the fake electors in her state to federal prosecutors in 2022, and then ended up charging them herself a year later. She wouldn’t have done this if the DOJ was already acting on her referral.



And now “Concern grows at slowdown of Jan. 6 rioter arrests as clock ticks down on statute of limitations.” (RawStory)

Online sleuths say they’ve identified more than 100 people on the FBI’s “most wanted” list of Capitol attackers. But the delay in making arrests even has some ex-agents concerned. (Daily Beast)

I don’t get it, I really don’t.

People on the left understand that the justice system in America is broken and needs to be repaired. Over and over again we see cases of poor people or POC being abused by the system while white “Christian Americans” or rich men, also often white, get special treatment.

Yet many people on the left stand behind a professed moderate who, after working his entire life inside the system, stands firmly behind the norms and customs of that very same system. Garland’s mindset is that the DOJ should continue working the way it always has (that’s what norms and customs are after all).

Just like Joe Biden or any other government official (even a Republican), I will applaud Merrick Garland when he does something right and I will voice my displeasure when he does something I believe to be wrong.

Yes, Garland has done some good, even great things which I wholeheartedly applaud, however that doesn’t mean I will overlook his shortcomings either…. and neither should any of us crying out for justice.

If the reporting is accurate and the DOJ didn’t seriously consider Trump’s crimes until after the J6th Committee released their findings, coupled with the fact that Garland didn’t appoint a Special Counsel until almost 2 years after the events of J6th, then I don’t think he deserves praise. He, like ANY OTHER LEADER in our nation, should be held accountable for doing his job. For decades, if not centuries, the justice system has failed to uphold the law equally in America… continuing that practice by sticking to the same customs and norms isn’t praiseworthy.

So no, I DO NOT ‘hate” Merrick Garland and yes, I do think he has done some good things. But I also don’t understand the undying praise for him either. He is a human and all humans have failings. In my eyes, Merrick Garland’s failing is that he doesn’t understand and/or cannot meet our current moment forcefully enough. This wouldn’t be the first time a U.S. AG failed to hold right-wing extremists accountable, but unfortunately, it could be the last opportunity to do so.

We shouldn’t just stand behind an Attorney General who just happens to have been picked by a Democratic POTUS only because he was picked by a Democratic POTUS. We need to pressure the DOJ to hold Jan 6th rioters accountable. We need to pressure the DOJ to hold current and former members of Congress accountable. We need to pressure the DOJ to hold current and former members of state-level political actors accountable. We need to pressure the DOJ to follow the money and investigate the ties between the GOP and Russian funding (same with Saudi funding).

This isn’t knocking on Merrick Garland, I am only asking him to be more forceful…. and that isn’t going to happen if he feels comfortable enough to keep doing things as the DOJ has always done. We shouldn’t be giving him cover by praising him, we should be pressuring him to go beyond the DOJ’s old ways of doing things.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/7/2185762/-Concern-grows-at-slowdown-of-Jan-6-rioter-arrests-as-clock-ticks-down-on-statute-of-limitations

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/