Wed Sep 8, 2021, 02:41 PM

Is DOJ hamstrung? I'm not sure under Garland's leadership that accountability and prosecution

are priorities. I'm contrasting to the arrests ironically under the previous administration (Manafort, Stone, etc.) for crimes committed. And can we ever have an un-redacted Mueller report?? Perhaps DOJ is as divided as America.

46 replies, 2720 views

Thread info Bookmark this thread Trash this thread

Reply to this thread

Always highlight: 10 newest replies | Replies posted after I mark a forum

Replies to this discussion thread

46 replies	Author	Time	Post
Is DOJ hamstrung? I'm not sure under Garland's leadership that accountability and prosecution (Original post)	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	OP
Seriously. It seems like they are completely inert	budkin	Sep 2021	#1
It's been six months basically.	jimfields33	Sep 2021	#2
Even just an update with what they're doing...	luv2fly	Sep 2021	#3
They are not required to give us updates. They are there doing their job! And it takes time	PortTack	Sep 2021	#6
Maybe DOJ needs a point person then, because we're running out of justice and perhaps democracy.	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#15
They need to market what they're doing	Retrograde	Sep 2021	#20
Are we really going to do the blind faith thing again?	ecstatic	Sep 2021	#26
You're right, nobody has to tell us anything ever	luv2fly	Sep 2021	#29
They have been writing serious letters	JohnSJ	Sep 2021	#5
I hope they are sternly worded.	smirkymonkey	Sep 2021	#14
Exactly, that will do it	JohnSJ	Sep 2021	#25
It's not looking good.	lagomorph777	Sep 2021	#4
From the outside in	Mad_Machine76	Sep 2021	#7
I agree. They are competent career people. But there has been limited action.	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#10
I read in the Washington Post magazine	Corgigal	Sep 2021	#8
Yeah and we were going to close Guantanamo too. Nobody is above the law seems a joke.	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#13
Everyone says they are going to close Guantanamo.	former9thward	Sep 2021	#28
This 100%	DetroitLegalBeagle	Sep 2021	#32
We need to name names. Who the hell is calling these shots? It ain't We the people.	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#35
Lawrence Tribe is good with Garland	stillcool	Sep 2021	#9
Might be hamstrung by rules that Trump put into place	fescuerescue	Sep 2021	#11
I have zero confidence in Garland.	BlueIdaho	Sep 2021	#12
+1000	smirkymonkey	Sep 2021	#16
People keep saying he puts "The Institution" first	Bettie	Sep 2021	#17
Amen.	BlueIdaho	Sep 2021	#19
Back in 2016 McConnel proposed Garland	Retrograde	Sep 2021	#22
I'm old enough to remember when the DOJ acted first	BlueIdaho	Sep 2021	#23
Well, he doesn't want to be too hard on people	Bettie	Sep 2021	#27
It's a damn good thing the DOJ didn't feel that way	BlueIdaho	Sep 2021	#30
Yeah, it is	Bettie	Sep 2021	#31
Me too Bettie, me too. nt.	BlueIdaho	Sep 2021	#34
How about Separation of Church and State	Mary in S. Carolina	Sep 2021	#18
Easy...	BlueIdaho	Sep 2021	#21
I think Biden appointed Garland specifically because he wouldn't do anything that might look	Poiuyt	Sep 2021	#24
If that's true, and it well might be, it is potentially democracy-breaking. If DOJ is reduced to	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#36
They're busy printing up parking and jaywalking tickets for the traitors to plead to.	NBachers	Sep 2021	#33
So far it sure feels that way. Most of the country has moved on, and the hearings aren't even news.	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#37
Justice Department planning to sue Texas over abortion law	LetMyPeopleVote	Sep 2021	#38
Well, there's these two stories. Whaddaya think? And there's more.	Hekate	Sep 2021	#39
Oh woe is me, oh gloom and doom, the world is ending. Well done you: there's like twodozen people...	Hekate	Sep 2021	#40
No need to be insulting.	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#41
Never	Hekate	Sep 2021	#44
pretty darn close; read the Rules. I don't think Buddha or DU would like that	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#45
When operating properly, DoJ doesn't "announce" who or what it is investigating...	Wounded Bear	Sep 2021	#42
Hope you're right	Evolve Dammit	Sep 2021	#43
Say it again	StarfishSaver	Sep 2021	#46

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 02:42 PM

budkin (6,421 posts)

1. Seriously. It seems like they are completely inert

We only get statements saying how they are going to do this and that but never do anything.

Reply to this post

Response to budkin (Reply #1)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 02:49 PM

jimfields33 (12,120 posts)

2. It's been six months basically.

I know he was not appointed until a few months after president Biden was inaugurated. It really hasn’t been that long. If a year from now, nothing, then it’s time for concern.

Reply to this post

Response to jimfields33 (Reply #2)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 02:52 PM

luv2fly (2,447 posts)

3. Even just an update with what they're doing...

... and how things are going would give hope to the masses that put these people in power.

Reply to this post

Response to luv2fly (Reply #3)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:03 PM

PortTack (28,603 posts)

6. They are not required to give us updates. They are there doing their job! And it takes time

Reply to this post

Response to PortTack (Reply #6)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:27 PM

Evolve Dammit (13,421 posts)

15. Maybe DOJ needs a point person then, because we're running out of justice and perhaps democracy.

Reply to this post

Response to PortTack (Reply #6)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:34 PM

Retrograde (9,091 posts)

20. They need to market what they're doing

or as another poster said, a pointperson to regularly tell the public what's been accomplished. The GOP and their base understand it's all about getting the message out, and that's what they're good at.

Reply to this post

Response to PortTack (Reply #6)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:53 PM

ecstatic (30,598 posts)

26. Are we really going to do the blind faith thing again?

That's what happened with Mueller. I'm just going to assume nothing will be done until they show me different.

Also, even though they're not required to give updates, they should respect us enough to do so. They don't have to give their strategy away, just let us know that they're at least working towards prosecuting the planners of the attack.

Keeping the public informed has been standard practice for every other attack! What other attack can you think of where the authorities disappeared into a backroom and never updated the public again? And I'm not referring to the minions who carried out the attack--I want to be updated on the big fish. They need to be held accountable but instead they're still in Congress and/or threatening to run for president again in 2024.

Reply to this post

Response to PortTack (Reply #6)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:56 PM

luv2fly (2,447 posts)

29. You're right, nobody has to tell us anything ever

What a fucked up democracy that would be. Accountability matters.

Reply to this post

Response to budkin (Reply #1)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:00 PM

JohnSJ (86,886 posts)

5. They have been writing serious letters

Reply to this post

Response to JohnSJ (Reply #5)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:27 PM

smirkymonkey (63,221 posts)

14. I hope they are sternly worded.

Reply to this post

Response to smirkymonkey (Reply #14)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:45 PM

JohnSJ (86,886 posts)

25. Exactly, that will do it

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 02:54 PM

lagomorph777 (30,613 posts)

4. It's not looking good.

Full-term babies have been conceived and delivered since the coup attempt.

None of the leaders are in jail yet. We know who they are.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:04 PM

Mad_Machine76 (23,425 posts)

7. From the outside in

It's hard to tell TBH. I have a hard time believing that they are sitting on their hands but I imagine they have a lot of messes to clean up and sort out and 1/6 is a huge mess in and of itself. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt for awhile. I don't subscribe to the idea that they are incompetent, negligent, etc.

Reply to this post

Response to Mad_Machine76 (Reply #7)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:19 PM

Evolve Dammit (13,421 posts)

10. I agree. They are competent career people. But there has been limited action.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:07 PM

Corgigal (9,280 posts)

8. I read in the Washington Post magazine

that Garland doesn’t want to deal with things in the past. When I mentioned this to my husband he said, aren’t most crimes in the past?

Thought, damn. Got a glass of wine.

Reply to this post

Response to Corgigal (Reply #8)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:25 PM

Evolve Dammit (13,421 posts)

13. Yeah and we were going to close Guantanamo too. Nobody is above the law seems a joke.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Reply #13)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:55 PM

former9thward (28,115 posts)

28. Everyone says they are going to close Guantanamo.

Then when they get in power someone whispers to them "Yes, it would be nice to close it but we need someplace we can take non citizens where U.S. Constitutional rights do not apply" And it never gets closed.

Reply to this post

Response to former9thward (Reply #28)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 04:45 PM

DetroitLegalBeagle (1,523 posts)

32. This 100%

And if by some miracle it actually is shut down, I guarantee it's because we've got a replacement up and running elsewhere.

Reply to this post

Response to former9thward (Reply #28)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 07:03 PM

Evolve Dammit (13,421 posts)

35. We need to name names. Who the hell is calling these shots? It ain't We the people.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:08 PM

stillcool (32,620 posts)

9. Lawrence Tribe is good with Garland

that was nice of him to say to Rachel. The way of things in this country does not bode well for accountability. It's never been done before.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:20 PM

fescuerescue (4,317 posts)

11. Might be hamstrung by rules that Trump put into place

That can't be removed.

But there is no way to know.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:25 PM

BlueIdaho (12,949 posts)

12. I have zero confidence in Garland.

So far he sounds like Trump… “in two weeks I will reveal…” Some day I hope I can say I’m wrong - but so far he’s underwhelming. He may be a good judge but as “America’s Prosecutor” he’s toothless.

Reply to this post

Response to BlueIdaho (Reply #12)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:28 PM

smirkymonkey (63,221 posts)

16. +1000

Reply to this post

Response to BlueIdaho (Reply #12)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:30 PM

Bettie (14,560 posts)

17. People keep saying he puts "The Institution" first

well, the institution means nothing if it stands for nothing but "normalcy", whatever that even is.

Reply to this post

Response to Bettie (Reply #17)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:34 PM

BlueIdaho (12,949 posts)

19. Amen.

If there was ever a time for the DOJ to act boldly and decisively - it’s now!

Reply to this post

Response to BlueIdaho (Reply #12)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:38 PM

Retrograde (9,091 posts)

22. Back in 2016 McConnel proposed Garland

to Obama as "a judge he could work with", which to me is telling. He's a moderate, which these days is about what the right was 50 years ago. I'd like to see more motion on the Jan. 6 rioters for a start - why does it seem like the courts are going so slowly? They committed federal crimes, surely a federal law enforcement agency has an interest in seeing these cases prosecuted.

Reply to this post

Response to Retrograde (Reply #22)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:43 PM

BlueIdaho (12,949 posts)

23. I'm old enough to remember when the DOJ acted first

And held press conferences second. Today it seems like they are so busy holding press conferences they never get around to using the law to protect the people. Civil rights? Voting rights? Women’s rights? Protecting the constitution from those that would shit on it? There is much to be done but the DOJ under Garland doesn’t seem too interested in doing any of it.

Reply to this post

Response to BlueIdaho (Reply #23)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:53 PM

Bettie (14,560 posts)

27. Well, he doesn't want to be too hard on people

or it will "seem political".

Honestly, I don't expect to see any action from them beyond a few 'slap on the wrist' type sentences for lower level insurrectionists and then, they'll just let the rest of it go.

I wish I believed that there was even a slight possibility of justice or even accountability, but I don't.

Reply to this post

Response to Bettie (Reply #27)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 04:02 PM

BlueIdaho (12,949 posts)

30. It's a damn good thing the DOJ didn't feel that way

When they were trying to enforce civil rights laws against George Wallace.

Reply to this post

Response to BlueIdaho (Reply #30)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 04:10 PM

Bettie (14,560 posts)

31. Yeah, it is

it's a really good thing.

Now imagine this DOJ in that situation.

Who knows? Maybe there are things happening...I wish I believed that was the case. I really do.

I really hope I'm wrong.

Reply to this post

Response to Bettie (Reply #31)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 05:54 PM

BlueIdaho (12,949 posts)

34. Me too Bettie, me too. nt.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:33 PM

Mary in S. Carolina (1,364 posts)

18. How about Separation of Church and State

Why is Garland not going after the Churches??

Reply to this post

Response to Mary in S. Carolina (Reply #18)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:35 PM

BlueIdaho (12,949 posts)

21. Easy...

Garland isn’t going after anyone for anything.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:44 PM

Poiuyt (17,660 posts)

24. I think Biden appointed Garland specifically because he wouldn't do anything that might look

"political." That's fine, except when there have been crimes committed that impact our democracy.

Reply to this post

Response to Poiuyt (Reply #24)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 07:12 PM

Evolve Dammit (13,421 posts)

36. If that's true, and it well might be, it is potentially democracy-breaking. If DOJ is reduced to

window dressing, we are cooked.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 05:23 PM

NBachers (15,530 posts)

33. They're busy printing up parking and jaywalking tickets for the traitors to plead to.

Reply to this post

Response to NBachers (Reply #33)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 07:14 PM

Evolve Dammit (13,421 posts)

37. So far it sure feels that way. Most of the country has moved on, and the hearings aren't even news.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Thu Sep 9, 2021, 12:07 AM

LetMyPeopleVote (124,247 posts)

38. Justice Department planning to sue Texas over abortion law

Link to tweet

The Department of Justice is planning to sue Texas as soon as this week, POLITICO has confirmed, a move that comes just days after Attorney General Merrick Garland said his department is exploring options to challenge the state’s strict abortion law.

While the lawsuit could come as soon as Thursday, it’s possible the timeline will be pushed back, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the Justice Department’s preparations. The Biden administration has faced building pressure to act after the Supreme Court allowed the law to take effect in a 5-4 decision.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit is expected to argue that the Texas law illegally interferes with federal interests.

The new Texas law, SB 8, bans abortions once medical professionals can detect cardiac activity, usually around six weeks, before some women even know they are pregnant. The law places enforcement responsibilities on private parties, by incentivizing individuals who can recover $10,000 or more if they win a case against a party they accuse of performing or aiding in an abortion. By putting enforcement powers in the hands of private citizens, instead of state or local government officials, it leaves opponents of the bill without an obvious party to sue.

Reply to this post

Response to Evolve Dammit (Original post)

Thu Sep 9, 2021, 01:19 AM

Hekate (81,663 posts)