The lead up to Former President Trump’s criminal indictment for January 6th related crimes is history now, and some of y’all are still complaining about the way in which Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice got us here. Those of you who have had divergent expectations are still claiming that accountability for the #FPOTUS is long overdue.
A little over a month ago a bit of stink was made because the DOJ didn’t start investigating fraudulent electors until over a year after the crimes took place. This was “news” that came as no real surprise to those of us who were paying close attention to developments in real time...
The New York Times — 4/2/22
And federal prosecutors have widened the investigation to include a broad range of figures associated with Mr. Trump’s attempts to cling to power. According to people familiar with the inquiry, it now encompasses planning for pro-Trump rallies ahead of the riot and the push by some Trump allies to promote slates of fake electors.
As Marcy Wheeler pointed out, the Washington Post article that generated the uproar included a healthy heaping of spin. She laid responsibility for the bulk of the complaints at the feet of former FBI Washington Field Office head Steve D’Antuonom and U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin.
emptywheel
The WaPo described that the original decision not to pursue the fake electors plot happened “about the same time,” as D’Antuono’s decision to shoot down Cooney’s Stone investigation without presenting a date.
About the same time, attorneys at Main Justice declined another proposal that would have squarely focused prosecutors on documents that Trump used to pressure Pence not to certify the election for Biden, The Post found.
Officials at the National Archives had discovered similarities in fraudulent slates of electors for Trump that his Republican allies had submitted to Congress and the Archives. The National Archives inspector general’s office asked the Justice Department’s election crimes branch to consider investigating the seemingly coordinated effort in swing states. Citing its prosecutors’ discretion, the department told the Archives it would not pursue the topic, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.
If that decision happened before Garland came in (as it appears to have), then the story is about how Garland chose to revisit and reopen the fake electors decision, not why he chose not to pursue it.
Of course that wasn’t the half of it…
It also came as a shock to many that the DOJ’s initial intention had been to quietly retrieve the documents on behalf of the National Archives and Records Administration without charging Trump for their theft. Again, I wasn’t surprised, because I had guessed as much very early on...
Raw Story
According to the Wall Street Journal, officials at the risk-averse DOJ were willing to not pursue charges if the former president had handed the documents over after months of stalling, but the bombshell recordings forced their hand and resulted in special counsel Jack Smith seeking a 37-count indictment.
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.
As they wrote, "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 I’ve asserted countless times, unrealistic expectations account for many of the criticisms aimed at Mr. Garland. I feel his performance as Attorney General should be judged based on the promises he has made. To mark the anniversary of the insurrection Garland laid out his priorities as the protection of the American people, our democracy, our institutions, our public servants, and our votes…
Department of Justice
[W]e at the Department of Justice will do everything in our power to defend the American people and American democracy.
We will defend our democratic institutions from attack.
We will protect those who serve the public from violence and threats of violence.
We will protect the cornerstone of our democracy: the right to every eligible citizen to cast a vote that counts.
And we will do all of this in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country.
(snip)
Those involved [in the insurrection] must be held accountable, and there is no higher priority for us at the Department of Justice.
(snip)
The Justice Department remains committed to holding all January 6th perpetrators, at any level, accountable under law — whether they were present that day or were otherwise criminally responsible for the assault on our democracy. We will follow the facts wherever they lead.
Because January 6th was an unprecedented attack on the seat of our democracy, we understand that there is broad public interest in our investigation. We understand that there are questions about how long the investigation will take, and about what exactly we are doing.
Our answer is, and will continue to be, the same answer we would give with respect to any ongoing investigation: as long as it takes and whatever it takes for justice to be done — consistent with the facts and the law.
Considering there hasn’t been another insurrection, the fact that we’re not currently in the middle of a second civil war, and it would appear our democracy continues to operate no more dysfunctionally than before Merrick Garland began his stint as Attorney General; I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I think he’s kept each and every one of those promises...
Despite all the second guessing, our Attorney General and the Department of Justice he oversees has now twice indicted the #FPOTUS for multiple felonies including violations of the Espionage Act, Felony Obstruction, and Conspiracy to Defraud the United States… But, that’s still not good enough for some people.
Garland was neither chosen nor hired to “GET” Trump.
In fact, Garland was selected for the job before the insurrection went down and his appointment to the post was coincidentally announced the day of the attack on our Capitol. Delving further into the history of Garland’s tenure at the DOJ shows that he has conducted the investigation into January 6th in the exact manner he promised from the very start...
In a large criminal investigation, the classic approach is to make cases against lower-level players — the little fish — and use their cooperation to build cases against bigger fish. Well, hundreds of those who rioted at the Capitol are currently being prosecuted — an enormous undertaking. Some have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate.
If you were trying to build a case against higher-level riot organizers, this is exactly how you would proceed. Indeed, referring to the Jan. 6 investigation at his confirmation hearing, Garland pledged to do just that: “We begin with the people on the ground and we work our way up.” But now some look at Garland doing exactly what he said he would do, and inexplicably conclude he must have decided to let the big fish go free.
(snip)
In the end, there may or may not be criminal cases to be made against senior government officials or others behind the events of Jan. 6. But making that determination was never going to be quick or easy. And, after all, what’s the rush? The potential defendants aren’t going anywhere. The Justice Department should take the time to do it right.
While the circumstantial evidence appeared to indicate a strong connection likely existed linking the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to the White House through Steve Bannon and Roger Stone via the Willard Hotel, until the matter had been thoroughly investigated, the DOJ had no way of knowing that little or no solid evidence of collusion would eventually be found. I think everyone agrees that was unfortunate.
In the meantime the Department of Justice has managed to charge around 1,105 individuals, secured approximately 715 convictions, and sentenced something like 593 seditionists for their part in the storming of our nation’s Capitol. Around 437 indictments have been handed down by grand juries, and government prosecutors have secured 594 guilty pleas. The DOJ has convicted 122 insurrectionists who took their case to trial, 89 of which were convicted on all charges. 64% of those sentenced have received prison time, and the median sentence has been about 90 days. New cases are being added every week.
- Approximately 935 defendants have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. Of those, 103 defendants have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.
- Approximately 61 defendants have been charged with destruction of government property, and approximately 49 defendants have been charged with theft of government property.
- More than 310 defendants have been charged with corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, or attempting to do so.
- Approximately 55 defendants have been charged with conspiracy, either: (a) conspiracy to obstruct a congressional proceeding, (b) conspiracy to obstruct law enforcement during a civil disorder, (c) conspiracy to injure an officer, or (d) some combination of the three.
When Merrick Garland assumed office the DOJ, like the nation as a whole, was divided and polarized.
After four years of being politicized by partisan hacks like Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr the organization’s preparedness, reputation, and morale were at an all time low. At that juncture the DC court system was bogged down with a massive backlog of cases stemming from the global pandemic. To grok the situation in full it’s also important to understand the scale and composition of the DOJ itself at the time Garland took the helm...
Department of Justice
Under the leadership of the Attorney General of the United States, the Justice Department is composed of more than 40 separate component organizations and more than 115,000 employees. Headquartered at the Robert F. Kennedy Building in Washington, D.C., the Department maintains field offices in all states and territories across the United States and in more than 50 countries around the world.
See the chart above...
Department of Justice
The DOJ’s FY 2020 request includes 115,440 positions (direct only). This staffing level is comprised of: Agents (24,690 or 21%); Attorneys (11,664 or 10%); Correctional Officers (20,446 or 18%); Intelligence Analysts (4,326 or 4%); and Other (54,314 or 47%). “Other” captures analysts, administrative, clerical, information technology specialists, legal services, and security specialists.
That might seem like a huge number of personnel, but keep in mind they are spread out across a vast organization. From the beginning of Merrick Garland’s tenure they’ve been conducting the largest investigation in U.S. history of the biggest crime in U.S. history (3,140 perpetrators known to have entered the Capitol and 538 documented to have engaged in violence) in addition to their normal everyday, week in/week out, year after year, workload.
For the curious, more detailed information about what the various component organizations within the DOJ have been doing with their time and your taxpayer dollars can be found here. The following is and excerpt from Merrick Garland’s latest statement marking tomorrow’s anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act…
Department of Justice
The Justice Department is using every authority we have to protect the franchise for all voters. We have doubled the size of the Civil Rights Division’s enforcement staff for protecting voting rights. The Department has brought voting rights cases and filed statements of interest and amicus briefs in courts across the country. We have sought to address discriminatory voting laws, to protect language access at the ballot box, and to ensure that voters with disabilities are able to exercise the right to vote. And we have provided guidance and outreach to state and local election officials and the public about federal voting rights laws.
The Justice Department will never stop working to ensure that all eligible voters can cast a vote, that all lawful votes are counted, and that every voter has access to accurate information. Our democracy depends on it.
I find the quantity of praise being heaped upon Special Counsel Jack Smith in stark contrast to the continued criticism of the man who appointed him perplexing. Contrary to popular belief Jack Smith wasn’t hired to “GET” Trump any more than Garland was. He was hired by our Attorney General to follow the facts wherever they might lead and to do whatever was required for justice to be done no matter how long it took consistent with our laws. IMHO, they are both deserving of accolades.
We’ll never know what would have happened had Garland taken the actions his critics on the left insist he should have taken two and a half years ago, such as charging him for Mueller obstruction or extorting Zelensky. We can’t know what the outcome would have been if Garland had appointed a Special Prosecutor on day one. It’s not hard to argue that it might currently be providing Garland’s detractors on the right with fuel for their accusations that “Biden’s crooked DOJ” is conducting a “witch hunt” and “persecuting Trump”… We’ll never know, because that’s not how shit went down, and none of that shit even matters at this point. What matters is that all of these things you’ve been criticizing Garland for from the left is evidence that this investigation and prosecution has in no way been politically motivated.
The proof is in the pudding. I told y’all long ago that, “We get there when we get there.” I’ve also reminded y’all repeatedly that, “It takes patience to watch history unfold.” The criticism underlying all other criticism of Garland has always centered around the fact that Trump had yet to be charged. Well now he is and the goalposts have shifted once again to an assertion that it’s now too late. Well, I disagree but once again, I guess we’re all going to have to wait and see…
I don’t share this fear that Trump could somehow return to the White House… There’s recent polling data to support that position.
Reuters
About half of Republicans would not vote for Donald Trump if he were convicted of a felony, a sign of the severe risks his legal problems pose for his 2024 U.S. presidential bid, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Thursday.
(snip)
The two-day Reuters/Ipsos poll, which closed before Trump's late-afternoon court appearance, asked respondents if they would vote for Trump for president next year if he were "convicted of a felony crime by a jury." Among Republicans, 45% said they would not vote for him, more than the 35% who said they would. The rest said they didn't know.
Asked if they would vote for Trump if he were "currently serving time in prison," 52% of Republicans said they would not, compared to 28% who said they would.
(snip)
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted nationwide, gathering responses online from 1,005 U.S. adults. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about four percentage points.
I’ve been called an apologist and a cheerleader...
I been accused of rationalizing as I’ve tried to explain to y’all the Department of Justice’s actions as we’ve observed them unfolding since the insurrection. After thoroughly reviewing my previous writing on the subject I challenge anyone to find a single flaw in my analysis, reporting, or predictions over the dozen separate “defenses” of the Justice Department and Merrick Garland I’ve posted in the last 2 ½ years...
- Feds Plea For More Time In "Most Complex Investigation Ever" - The Capitol Insurrection Prosecutions — 3/16/21
- The Department Of Justice Is Facing A Uniquely Daunting Task In Prosecuting The Capitol Breach Cases — 8/29/21
- Still Want To Bash Attorney General Merrick Garland And The Department Of Justice?... Bring It! — 11/12/21
- Attorney General of the United States Merrick Garland Responds To His Critics… — 2/12/2022
- There Seems To Be A Black Cloud Hanging Over Us… — 2/14/2022
- Garland Is In A Box And Under Fire If He Dares Appear Political By Opening An Investigation Of Trump — 3/7/2022
- Why Hasn’t Attorney General Merrick Garland Indicted Donald Trump For The January 6th Insurrection? — 4/6/2022
- I Hate To Break It To You, But Someone Has To... Donald Trump Will Likely Never Spend Time In Prison — 7/13/2022
- There Is No One I Trust More At This Moment In History Than Attorney General Merrick Garland — 7/21/2022
- DOJ Prosecutors Must Prepare For Every Conceivable Defense BEFORE Bringing Charges Against #FPOTUS — 1/10/2023
- What Has Attorney General Merrick Garland And The U.S. Department Of Justice Done For Us Lately? 2/16/2023
- Waiting For Merrick Garland, Jack Smith, And The DOJ To Indict #FPOTUS Might Be Discouraging To Some — 4/1/2023
At this point I find it inconceivable that I’m ever going to have to do this again, but knowing his critics I’ll qualify that with a standard “never say never”…