General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMerrick Garland Must Prosecute Criminal Former Trump Admin Officials to Save Democracy
Link to tweet
Sarah Reese Jones
@PoliticusSarah
Me: The only way to stop the next Trump administration is to prosecute the last one.
Editorial: Merrick Garland Must Prosecute Criminal Former Trump Admin Officials to Save Democracy
https://politicususa.com/2021/07/19/opinion-merrick-garland-must-prosecute-criminal-former-trump-admin-officials-to-save-democracy.html via @politicususa
Opinion: Merrick Garland Must Prosecute Criminal Former Trump Admin Officials to Save Democracy
The only way to stop the next Trump administration is to prosecute the last one.
politicususa.com
10:45 AM · Jul 19, 2021
https://www.politicususa.com/2021/07/19/opinion-merrick-garland-must-prosecute-criminal-former-trump-admin-officials-to-save-democracy.html
The only way to stop the next Trump administration is to prosecute the last one.
Democracy is hanging on by a thin thread as we battle the authoritarian death-cult impulses of the current Republican Party. The situation is dire, and requires warriors for justice rather than traditional institutionalists. Attorney General Merrick Garland is repeatedly stepping in to defend Trump from non-work related activities (like defaming an alleged sexual assault victim of his) and now his DOJ is declining to prosecute Trump administration member Wilbur Ross for lying to Congress.
What do our laws mean if they dont apply to certain people? How is this restoring faith in the U.S. judicial system?
The Department of Commerce Inspector Generals report confirmed Congressional Democrats findings from their investigation that former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross misled Congress with false testimony regarding the origins and purpose of the Trump administrations proposed citizenship question on the 2020 census.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, issued the following statement on Monday, The independent Inspector General has confirmed what the Oversight Committee found in our extensive investigation: that Secretary Ross misled Congress and the American people about the true motivations behind the Trump Administrations illegal efforts to add a citizenship question to the census. Lying to Congress is unacceptable, and the IG did the right thing by referring Secretary Rosss conduct to the Justice Department.
*snip*
Bettie
(16,124 posts)it seems that he has no interest in prosecuting any of them.
So, we'll see how that goes for our nation.
My guess is not well, but the rich grifters will get away with all of their criminal activity and the next batch will be emboldened even farther.
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)about who he is going to prosecute. I don't think the Biden Admin want to be seen as persecuting the opposition.
High road and all that.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Democracy left high and dry, beached and dying.
Thomas Hurt
(13,903 posts)SledDriver
(2,059 posts)It's the same things being said about Merrick Garland as with Robert Mueller -- "There are big things going on behind the scenes", "It takes time to build a case", "The delays are just proof of how thorough a case Garland is building".
Demsrule86
(68,667 posts)known for years, but he is a careful criminal and you have to be able to build a case that convicts him. And I would wager in every corner of the US including blue states, any jury would have at least one Trumper who will never convict him. Also, do we want to set the stage for every ex-president subject to prosecution? Trump is old...he will cease to be a problem in a few years. Now if you can prove that those around him behaved in criminal ways then by all means prosecute them. I do think we should stop second-guessing the Attorney General and give him a chance.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)gratuitous
(82,849 posts)I still maintain that the first major blunder of the Obama administration was to look forward to the future, and not back to the past as their rationale for not holding the Bush administration accountable for lying the country into two occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq, instituting a torture regime, creating the gulag at Guantanamo Bay, and various other crimes against humanity. That forbearance led, in my opinion, to the even worse administration of the former guy. In letting those folks off the hook, I shudder to think of what the next Republican administration is going to look like, and what atrocities it will normalize.
happy feet
(871 posts)Jesus H. Christ on a cracker.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Who else shoulda/coulda held the Bush administration accountable for its multitude of crimes but the Obama administration? Name one person, entity, agency, or dancing hobgoblin that was more responsible?
Sewa
(1,259 posts)Does this help? 💀🤙
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)A member of the Obama administration, no? Or did Holder appoint himself?
Sewa
(1,259 posts)Act independently?
Demsrule86
(68,667 posts)Everyone always wants to go after TFG, now Trump is criminal no doubt. But as I see no chance of conviction, there really is no point. And we need to move on. We can't live in the past while ignoring the problems we face now. You want a complete blowout for the GOP in 22 then go down this path.
uponit7771
(90,363 posts)... could not find a guilty verdict.
I nearly agree with this if the plan was to choke the current leadership of the GQP out of its trajectory of treason
wcmagumba
(2,892 posts)have little to no interest in prosecuting the criminals from the previous administration...for whatever reason this will continue the precipitous decline of true democracy in this country (imo).
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)I wonder what Kompromat Trump has on Garland?
Earth-shine
(4,044 posts)He'd rather be seen by history as having been a serious institutionalist than be someone who actually made a difference.
triron
(22,020 posts)Earth-shine
(4,044 posts)I felt inspired by him speaking of his family history and belief in the law.
This man is not going to fight for anything except to keep the records sealed.
BSdetect
(8,999 posts)CrispyQ
(36,509 posts)Our side isn't taking the authoritarian threat seriously enough, IMO.
Beringia
(4,316 posts)Link to tweet
Elie Mystal
@ElieNYC
The Garland @TheJusticeDept has sent the very clear signal that it is too chickenshit to actually prosecute any white man with power.
All they're going to do is go after low level functionaries.
leftstreet
(36,112 posts)jalan48
(13,883 posts)moondust
(20,006 posts)Wilbur Ross, the Trump administrations new commerce secretary, presided over a deal with a Russian businessman with ties to Vladimir Putin while serving in his previous role as vice-chairman of the Bank of Cyprus.
~
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/23/wilbur-ross-russian-deal-bank-of-cyprus-donald-trump-commerce-secretary
~
Cyprus has a longstanding reputation as the place Russians go when they need to stash or launder large amounts of money with no questions asked.
~
https://www.justsecurity.org/39409/money-russia-cyprus-trump-teams-odd-business-dealings/
I doubt Wilbur has ever been seriously investigated for his "work" in Cyprus. I know the DOJ has its hands full but...
George II
(67,782 posts)....was made by the TRUMP Administration's DOJ, not Merrick Garland or the Biden Administration, and before either took office this year.
Sad, but the once again the media has been sloppy and misreported this story just to get it out quick, not correctly.
Link to tweet
Here's the very quiet correction from one of the sources of the story in the politicususa article:
https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/07/doj-will-not-prosecute-trump-officials-after-ig-referred-findings-false-testimony-census/183843/
Roisin Ni Fiachra
(2,574 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(145,554 posts)Link to tweet
?s=20
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)The principle is still true. Garland needs to prosecute Trump and his minions for a horrifying array of crimes, including the Jan 6th coup attempt.
Evidence so far is that he is protecting, rather than prosecuting Trump.
That is terrifying.
Response to Nevilledog (Original post)
dalton99a This message was self-deleted by its author.