Can Merrick Garland find his inner Zelensky and stop America's slide into Putinism?

[dajoki]

Can Merrick Garland find his inner Zelensky and stop America’s slide into Putinism?
Political bombshells here at home tie Donald Trump tightly to a criminal conspiracy on January 6. Will the attorney general find the courage to act?
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Can Merrick Garland find his inner Zelensky and stop America’s slide into Putinism? | Will Bunch.
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/merrick-garland-indict-trump-january-6-20220306.html

snip//

Indeed, a federal investigation that so far has netted charges against more than 700 smaller fish hasn’t ensnared any swamp creature larger than James or Rhodes, who pleaded not guilty to the same seditious conspiracy charge. The big kahunas — Stone, his pal Michael Flynn, Trump January 6 advisers like Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, and Steve Bannon, as well as Trump himself — have not been charged (although Bannon faces trial for ignoring the House Committee’s subpoena), and legal watchers have seen scant evidence such a probe is far along.

That, in a nutshell, is the true significance of last week’s legal filing by the House committee. In announcing its strong evidence of Trump’s criminality around January 6, the committee also made it all but inevitable it will eventually send a criminal referral against Trump to Garland at the Justice Department. This will likely come after public hearings, probably this spring, that will lay out the case of the United States vs. Donald J. Trump. The pressure will mount on Garland to do something America has never done — charge a president with a crime.

That’s why what’s happening right now in Ukraine should be a game-changer. We are watching, in real-time, the moral implosion of a powerful, nuclear-armed nation that’s just a few years farther down the rabbit hole of authoritarianism than the United States. Putin’s delusional but deadly invasion of a sovereign democracy has elevated the question: How do you stop a madman? And when? In Sunday’s Washington Post, veteran journalist Dan Balz reports the biggest worry of America’s western allies in working so closely with the Biden administration against Russia is their fear that U.S. voters — or U.S. vote counters — will return Trump to the White House in 2024.

Yet fear has ruled our own response to Trump’s criminality. The latest deer in those headlines has been newly elected Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, who stunned his top career staffers by aborting their ongoing criminal investigation into Trump’s role in the dodgy finances of the Trump Organization. It’s totally legit to worry that the milquetoast-y Garland — whose prosecutors have already pulled their Trump-related punches in other matters — is the next frightened deer standing on the roadway between January 6 and real justice.

One of the few positives to emerge from the horrors taking place in Eastern Europe is the reminder for a politics-weary world of what actual courage looks like, in the unexpected persona of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A former comedian and actor, Zelensky has shown the power of looking directly into a camera and speaking plain truths, about the barbarity of Putin’s invasion and the will of his own people to resist it. It’s something that some of America’s political leaders — but especially Merrick Garland, facing the decision of a lifetime — should watch, and study. That’s because speaking the plain truth about what Donald Trump did, and acting upon that truth, is the only surefire way to prevent an American Putin.

[uponit7771]

1. K&R, people should be shocked out of the "it can't happen" stage of denial by now. IT CAN HAPPEN

... here and is already happening in states like Florida, Texas and Missouri. These states have the lowest voter access (not just high voter suppression) in the union and their pols go about acting like damn fools knowing there's not going to be repercussions.

The GQP want the Belarus model for voting where they always come out ahead no matter the populations voting.

[lagomorph777]

2. Nobody, including Garland, will be safe if he lets democracy slip away.

He'd better get on top of this, and fast.

[Iwasthere]

3. But Garland is collecting all the data, he is on it

We just have to be patient. I'm being seriously sarcastic. So many constantly defended Mueller. If Garland fails us now Democracy is at stake, everything good in the world is at stake. He needs to be pressured imo

[bucolic_frolic]

4. I think it's a ridiculous question

Garland is not a politician. He's not on a crusade, or a campaign. He's enforcing the law. All that's needed is to indict on a few very secure points of law. But even if we get to that point, a conviction is not secure, appeals are always possible. What's the rush? Maybe TDFG will go away all by himself. Maybe Cheeburgers will catch up with him, maybe the public mood will move on. At this point he's not popular. The bigger problem is Democrats' popularity - inflation, war, gas prices, spending. So I'd let Garland do his job. He hears the noise. Let him work his legal process. I know - get on with it.

[SoCalDavidS]

6. So, Because TDFG Will Go Away, He Shouldn't Be Held Accountable For His Crimes?

One thing should have NOTHING to do with the other.

The future is watching, and someday, another criminal will realize that they can just get away with crimes against the country.

[bucolic_frolic]

9. Don't blame the messenger

And good luck eradicating privilege. It kind of goes with pyramid societies, which is to say everything.

[SoCalDavidS]

10. Kind Of Like In Russia

Putin also has "privilege," and therefore can just commit War Crimes, because he's not going to be held accountable either.

[Fullduplexxx]

27. No he isnt.... mueller handed him 10 counts of obstructions

Trump flushed documents and took top secret papers to mar a Lardo . No one is being brought in for testimony no subpoenas are going out ...

[Bettie]

28. Democrats would be more popular if they

were shown enforcing the law, not letting the 'big fish' get away with everything.

But, that's a pipe dream, isn't it? You know, the thought of justice being for everyone, not just the poor and those with brown skin?

[smirkymonkey]

32. Everyone is a politician, whether they think so or not.

Even if his worst crime was lack of conviction or passion of a political drive, that in itself favors a political outcome. If he doesn't act, and soon, he will be in a very large part responsible for the downfall of democracy in this nation.

He knows what the f**k is at stake here. I don't give a shit about his so called "standards of practice". This is too important to toy around with, and the evidence is overwhelmingly against Trump and the Republicans and everyone knows it. FFS, there is so much low hanging fruit here and he and the DOJ can't even seem to get any of them on that! If he can't make a case in favor of saving our nation from some of the worst people who have ever tried to destroy it, then he is just as guilty as they are.

I'm not buying this "let him do his job" crap. It's going to be Mueller all over again and we'll just all passively go along with it like we always have before. BTW, I will be more than happy to eat it if I am proven wrong, but how many of you who have faith in Garland are willing to say the same if YOU are proven wrong?

BTW, this is a HUGE drag on the popularity of the Democrats, whether people want to admit that or not. Garland and the DOJ are "supposed" to be non-partisan, but we all know how this would shake out if the tables were turned and it's making us look weak.

[Grasswire2]

5. "Look forward, not back" has been such a successful strategy for Dems for decades...

/sarcasm

[dem4decades]

7. When history writes about the end of the United States, Garland will be our Chamberlain. He let it

all slide.

[Ohio Joe]

8. Yet again I'll leave this here to be ignored...

This entire affair is essentially a mob case and needs to be treated as such. Mob cases are built from the ground up so...

First up... We have over 700 low level thugs already arrested with more to come. There are many complaints they are getting little time but these are small potatoes.

Next, there is often complaints about Mark Meadows not being arrested for contempt... I've addressed that here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216378643

Moving up the chain, there are the 11 currently under arrest for seditious conspiracy. The DOJ has close to a 100% conviction rate, so these assholes are going down. Most of them are older and probably will not want to die in jail so look for some of them to flip and cooperate with the DOJ. We already have one that has flipped and it's a big deal, more will flip... See here on why:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216433317

Continuing up the chain, there are 8 people we know for certain that are under investigation (and probably more we do not know about)... They are:

TOM BARRACK
RUDY GIULIANI
ROBERT COSTELLO
SIDNEY POWELL
MARK MEADOWS
ALEX JONES
ROGER STONE
ERIK PRINCE

https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/02/08/the-eight-trump-associates-whom-doj-is-investigating/

This is now into TFG's inner circle with Joshua James flipping. He will almost certainly be a direct line to Roger Stone, read about it here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216433317

Usually, gerrymandering comes up at about this point... It is really not as bad as people thought it would be and Dem's are doing pretty well:

https://newrepublic.com/article/165314/democrats-redistricting-blue-state-gerrymandering

Let me also say, I know this is a lot to go through and some of it is tough reading (the emptywheel stuff was for me) but there actually is a lot happening.

Garland took office just short of a year ago and to take a mob case and be knocking on the inner circle at this point is amazing. But... You know... Lets just lock him up and to hell with actually proving the case... Lets act just like TFG.

[SoCalDavidS]

11. So, What's Stopping Him From Simply Indicting Meadows For Contempt Of Congress?

Seems simple enough, and won't preclude whatever so-called investigation is going on.

He defied a Congressional Subpoena. End Of Story.

I guess if I ever get a subpoena, I can choose to simply ignore it as well, without fear of consequence.

[Ohio Joe]

12. Read the post...

I addressed it there but I'll put it here... Yet again:

Next, there is often complaints about Mark Meadows not being arrested for contempt... I've addressed that here:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216378643

[SoonerPride]

13. Or maybe Meadows will never be indicted.

Ever.

Wanna place any bets?

[Ohio Joe]

17. I don't gamble...

Care to dispute any of the goings on though? Or is it just a feeling?

[SoonerPride]

18. I dispute that the DOJ is holding off going after Meadows contempt of Congress

Because they are working on a bigger case against him.

I think that is wishful thinking


At best.

I read the emptywheel posts.


and it is indeed "empty."

Thanks though.

[Fiendish Thingy]

20. If you gained nothing from reading emptywheel, then none of us here can help you

Your mind is made up, and that’s that.

[SoonerPride]

22. I found it unconvincing blather.

But thanks nonetheless.

[Fiendish Thingy]

24. That says more about you than it does about Marcy Wheeler and her team. Nt

[SoonerPride]

26. I won't hold my breath.

[Fiendish Thingy]

23. Once Meadows is indicted for contempt, discovery begins

Meadows would have access to all of the evidence the committee and DOJ has against him, which is a hell of a lot more than the evidence it has against Bannon. Meadows could then turn around and share that evidence with Trump and any other unindicted co-conspirators, as Bannon is now doing.

Do you see the danger that rushing to indict Meadows for contempt (which carries a 1 year max sentence) poses to the prosecution of more serious charges for both Meadows as well as Trump?

[Iwasthere]

15. EVERYTHING is at stake

Democracy is on his shoulders. Sitting back and fully trusting him is difficult for many of us, it could cost us everything. We've been frogs in a pot far too long. If we just had hints from him that he's on it. But crickets

[Ohio Joe]

16. The links provided are filled with the hints you seek...

Emptywheel has sourced everything. It really is worth the time to read.

[Bettie]

29. I think most of us are recalling Mueller

he had a mountain of evidence and what happened? Nothing.

Apparently, these people are untouchable.

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't feel optimistic at all.

[Ohio Joe]

30. Mueller...

He left what should happen to a sitting President up to congress and repugs decided to do nothing. Though even if he tried to follow it up through DOJ, Barr would not have let him.

[SoonerPride]

14. Garland won't ever charge trump with anything.

Ever.

[SoCalDavidS]

31. I Agree Completely

I imagine that just like me, you would LOVE to be proven wrong.

It's been said plenty of times, but I liken it to Charlie Brown and Lucy's Football.

"Today is the day I'm going to kick that football."

Ummmm.....no it isn't. Not tomorrow either.

Only this isn't a cartoon, it's reality, and it's truly sad that optimism is unwarranted.

[Fiendish Thingy]

19. We'll have to give it more than six weeks to find out.

Six weeks- that’s how long since the SCOTUS ruling on Trump’s executive privilege claims resulted in a massive document dump that provided documentation of Trump’s conspiracy to defraud the United States. In addition, it’s just been about six weeks since Pence’s staff, who were in the room when the coup was plotted, have testified to the committee.

Preparing the first ever criminal charges against a former president and his accomplices takes more than six weeks, at least it does if you want a conviction. I’m guessing we might see the first indictments (Eastman, Giuliani, Powell, Meadows?) by summer assuming the committee finishes their public hearings and issues their final report. If not, then we likely won’t hear from the DOJ until after the midterms.

[SoonerPride]

25. How about 6 years from now?

Is that long enough?

The sooner people stop hoping that someone will indict trump the better.

He is above the law and knows it.

Bragg was working on an iron clad CRIMINAL case since 2018. THAT IS FOUR YEARS.

Until suddenly he wasn't. And that was that. The end. No charges. No case. Nothing.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/nyregion/trump-criminal-investigation-manhattan.html

[Fiendish Thingy]

34. Someone should check Bragg's bank account.

If Trump and the January 6 coup architects haven’t been indicted by 2024, then indeed, Garland and the DOJ will have failed and were clearly derelict.

[moondust]

21. Putinazism. n/t

[BlueIdaho]

33. Garland's Motto "Don't make Waves."

May work for a judge but it’s no way to protect Americans from its domestic enemies. He should never have taken the job of AG.

[DLevine]

35. Don't think so. Hope I'm wrong. nt