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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMerrick Garland lectures on 'the rule of law' after Trump judge ruled former president deserves
special treatmentAttorney General Merrick B. Garland explained the concept of the rule of law in a Saturday speech before new immigrants at Ellis Island.
"Everything Mr. Garland says these days is parsed for deeper meaning and prosecutorial clues as the Justice Department plunges ahead with sprawling, open-ended investigations into former President Donald J. Trump and his allies. The attorney general often uses public appearances to address Mr. Trump and Trumpism in veiled but unmistakable terms, decrying division and vowing to hold 'the powerful' accountable for crimes they commit," The New York Times reported.
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Garland's speech came only days after Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon issued a highly criticized ruling claiming Trump deserved special treatment as a former president.
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The rule of law means that the law treats each of us alike: There is not one rule for friends, another for foes; one rule for the powerful, another for the powerless; a rule for the rich, another for the poor, Garland said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/merrick-garland-lectures-on-the-rule-of-law-after-trump-judge-ruled-former-president-deserves-special-treatment/ar-AA11WWxt
BootinUp
(47,200 posts)Timewas
(2,196 posts)I'm not from Missouri,but "Show Me".............
How long do you think it would take for them to arrest any of us if we chartered a couple of planes then went to texas and conned a bunch of illegal aliens to go to any place else and just dropped them off????
Scrivener7
(51,025 posts)those are empty words.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Thunderbeast
(3,424 posts)Line up the evidence.
Frog march their asses to the courthouse.
Fire on all cylinders.
Watch them weep.
Scrivener7
(51,025 posts)Indict them for SOMETHING.
NullTuples
(6,017 posts)Martin68
(22,900 posts)quest to restore and protect our democracy.
BamaRefugee
(3,488 posts)NBachers
(17,149 posts)EndlessWire
(6,573 posts)BlueIdaho
(13,582 posts)Let her practice her bizarre notion of justice in traffic court somewhere
ancianita
(36,146 posts)His leadership is having a positive effect on the Department of Justice, imo.
Excerpt from his speech:
That protection is what distinguishes America from so many other countries. The protection of law the Rule of Law is the foundation of our system of government.
The Rule of Law means that the same laws apply to all of us, regardless of whether we are this countrys newest citizens or whether our [families] have been here for generations.
The Rule of Law means that the law treats each of us alike: there is not one rule for friends, another for foes; one rule for the powerful, another for the powerless; a rule for the rich, another for the poor; or different rules, depending upon ones race or ethnicity or country of origin.
The Rule of Law means that we are all protected in the exercise of our civil rights; in our freedom to worship and think as we please; and in the peaceful expression of our opinions, our beliefs, and our ideas.
Of course, we still have work to do to make a more perfect union. Although the Rule of Law has always been our guiding light, we have not always been faithful to it.
The Rule of Law is not assured. It is fragile. It demands constant effort and vigilance.
The responsibility to ensure the Rule of Law is and has been the duty of every generation in our countrys history. It is now your duty as well. And it is one that is especially urgent today at a time of intense polarization in America.
The United States is no stranger to what our Founders called the risk of faction. Alexander Hamilton and James Madison wrote about it in the Federalist Papers. George Washington warned against it in his Farewell Address.
Overcoming the current polarization in our public life is, and will continue to be, a difficult task.
But we cannot overcome it by ignoring it. We must address the fractures in our society with honesty, with humility, and with respect for the Rule of Law.
This demands that we tolerate peaceful disagreement with one another on issues of politics and policy. It demands that we listen to each other, even when we disagree. And it demands that we reject violence and threats of violence that endanger each other and endanger our democracy.
We must not allow the fractures between us to fracture our democracy.
We are all in this together. We are all Americans.
On this historic day and in this historic place, let us make a promise that each of us will protect each other and our democracy.
That we will honor and defend our Constitution.
That we will recognize and respect the dignity of our fellow Americans.
That we will uphold the Rule of Law and seek to make real the promise of equal justice under law.
That we will do what is right, even if that means doing what is difficult.
And that we will do these things not only for ourselves, but for the generations of Americans who will come after us.
I have often thought about what members of my family felt as they came through buildings like this. And I have often thought about what their decisions meant for my own life.
My family story is what motivated me to choose a career in public service. I wanted to repay my country for taking my family in when they had nowhere else to go. I wanted to repay the debt my family owes this country for our very lives.
My family members who immigrated here have now long since passed. I regret that I cannot express to them how grateful I am for the gift they gave me in choosing to come to this country.
So let me thank each of you.
Thank you for choosing America as your home. Thank you for the courage, dedication and work that has brought you here.
Thank you for all you will do to help our country live up to its highest ideals.
Thank you on behalf of a nation that is fortunate to call you as its citizens.
And thank you upon on behalf of the generations of Americans who will come after you.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-administers-oath-allegiance-and-delivers
LetMyPeopleVote
(145,631 posts)This was a great speech. I have a certificate for both of my paternal grandparents coming through Ellis Island. I am glad that AG Garland called out Loose Cannon on the concept that TFG has special rights different from other US Citizens.
Link to tweet
https://news.yahoo.com/garland-calls-on-americans-to-overcome-intense-polarization-in-emotional-ellis-island-speech-191127421.html
"As a function of Plaintiff's former position as President of the United States, the stigma associated with the subject seizure is in a league of its own," said a Sept. 5 decision from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee. "A future indictment, based to any degree on property that ought to be returned, would result in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude."
Cannon also noted in a Sept. 15 ruling that the "principles of equity require the Court to consider the specific context at issue, and that consideration is inherently impacted by the position formerly held by Plaintiff."
Garland, who typically refrains from engaging in politics, did not address either debate, but instead talked about the importance of the rule of law in upholding democracy.
The rule of law means that the law treats each of us alike, he said. There is not one rule for friends, another for foes; one rule for the powerful, another for the powerless; one rule for the rich, another for the poor; or different rules, depending upon ones race or ethnicity or country of origin.