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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBiden has said Garland needs to prosecute Trump and stop being a judge
Sounds like Biden isn't particularly happy with Garland either.
Link to tweet
?s=20&t=UcBOR3DecXI9zG-MWNlkBw
hlthe2b
(102,225 posts)blm
(113,043 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 2, 2022, 06:34 PM - Edit history (1)
telling his attorney general what should be done to someone the nation sees as his political rival. Trump was dead wrong when he signaled what he wanted. Any president needs to stand clear in cases involving political enemies. The NEWSmedia will not show discernment. Theyll rake Biden over the coals for doing even .5% of what Trump did for 4yrs unpunished by them.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)agingdem
(7,845 posts)every day there's a new Trump revelation..Biden, like the rest of us, wants Trump muzzled...and that's not going to happen until/unless he indicted and under a gag order...we need a reckoning..as for the J6 committee..lots of tantalizing teasers..subpoenas served/subpoenas defied/contempt charges...only closed door "interviews" but no public hearings and no report..again, I know Trump crap continues to surface but I want to know what they know instead of "wait for it, wait for it"...it's way past time for the DOJ and the J6 to go public..
Mr.Bill
(24,280 posts)And if he violates the gag order, how many years will we spend investigating it?
agingdem
(7,845 posts)then he will continue spew his never-ending vomitus bilge.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,113 posts)And, since his name makes that happen, regardless of whether or not he is crowing to them or being indicted for something, they are going to feature him. Stop giving the media any attention whenever that orange gibbon appears, start vocally boycotting any media that features him, and they will stop giving him platforms to use.
oldsoftie
(12,531 posts)If the House goes R then the J6 committee goes away I'm sure
agingdem
(7,845 posts)Last edited Sat Apr 2, 2022, 06:42 PM - Edit history (1)
if the J6 committee and the DOJ are waiting to release the report/indict Trump closer to the midterms...makes me nervous as hell
oldsoftie
(12,531 posts)PatrickforB
(14,570 posts)It has gone far, far beyond Trump merely being a 'political enemy.' The guy is a huge danger to the republic. A traitor who tried to overturn an election with an armed insurrection. A guy out to foment civil war.
Honestly, Garland needs to poop or get off the pot on this thing. Biden is right. Because we've never really been 'here' before. Not in our lifetimes.
blm
(113,043 posts)is telling the Attorney General what he wants to see happen.
Does anyone think the corporate media will treat Biden fairly on this?
certainot
(9,090 posts)as long as dumbshit dem orgs continue to ignore rw radio, 1500 radio stations will keep blasting the country with the message that biden, who's son hid a whole apple computer up his ass, is a traitor
it just can't get stupider than dems ignoring rw radio
Evolve Dammit
(16,723 posts)soldierant
(6,847 posts)NullTuples
(6,017 posts)stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)I know he doesn't want to go through another confirmation hearing for AG but better to do it sooner than later.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)What does that signal? The AG isnt going after political enemies (guilty or mot) she he gets fired? You know how that will be spun.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)I think Garland wants an air-tight case if he's going to charge a former president. A long jury trial with the chance of a hung jury or not guilty verdict would be counterproductive.
He needs a stron case that would force Trump to admit guilt because conviction would be a no brainer.
A different AG might take a different approach.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)Trump would self incriminate himself almost immediately if he were under oath.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)The entire period between indictment and end of the trial would be a shit show. It would make OJ look like small claims court.
I think any AG has to make sure their case could hold up under such extreme conditions.
jaxexpat
(6,818 posts)The problem is it's not a case about facts vs lies so much as it is about how well the general population will respond to the judgement, however it goes. Biden seems to have more faith in the goodness and common sense of people than "legal people" do. Thing about it is that there's NO AMOUNT of hand feeding irrefutable proof to the MAGA's which will guarantee there won't be violence in the streets if Trump's cause loses. If he walks, justice minded people will simply become more depressed and resigned to the end of democracy, but they won't riot. I think Joe sees that resignation as the greater threat because he, rightly, sees it as the prelude to a national hopelessness.
Meanwhile, this whole ordeal is like pulling teeth without pain medication. Best to get right to it and be finished. The least painful path is that with the least time for the dread of pain to dwell. However necessary it may be, this interminable delay is causing the stress of anticipation to further aggravate the whole nation while it's already prepped for major surgery.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)I think what's interesting is how technology has allowed bogus information to be disseminated to the masses in a way it could never have been even 20 years ago.
Sometimes during discussions the person or group I'm talking to will try to recall a name or some other fact. I like to say, why debate or spend too much time trying remember something that you can googe.
But yet that same mechanism let's the lies flourish. It's baffling. It's aggravating. And sometimes I think I should give up and turn off the news. But I'm too damn curious about what's going to happen next.
jaxexpat
(6,818 posts)LudwigPastorius
(9,136 posts)Sure, but for the safety and integrity of our Constitution and democratic system, Trump needs any future paths to power closed. Prosecuting Trump is the right thing to do.
Besides, how it would be portrayed is one of the least-worrying possible things to overcome if we want Joe, or any other Democrat, in the White House in 2024.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)If we start firing people because we dont like that their investigation into political adversaries isnt moving how we want it to the we are completely fucked.
But whatever throw the norms and the institutions i to the fire so we can stay warm a little longer.
helpisontheway
(5,007 posts)that Trump was knee deep in everything that happened that day. Yet Trump gets off free..I dont care that he is a former president. If they do not stop him now then our democracy will be over if Trump is elected again. People so pissed at Biden now they might hold their nose and vote for Trump again. I never thought Trump would win against Hillary so Im not gonna be in the Trump would never be elected again bunch. He is a serious threat and would should not assume that people will do the right thing..
bucolic_frolic
(43,128 posts)Failure to support Congressional subpoenas come to mind .....
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)That is how ot is supposed to be. If we throw out our norms and circumvent how the government works then what are we doing? Aside for more normalization of the deterioration of our democracy. You can say Well they and Trump did it But that is a big reason why Trump wasnt re-elected. People were fed up with the circus and the ineptitude and the corruption.
bucolic_frolic
(43,128 posts)MyOwnPeace
(16,925 posts)Joe's support for the 'rule of law' and the right of Congress to subpoena witnesses is clear in the Constitution. There is a 'legal motion' sitting on the desk of the DOJ - awaiting action. It would be fair and proper for the President to 'encourage' the DOJ to DO THEIR JOB!
bucolic_frolic
(43,128 posts)Backing up the Constitution has little downside and a whole lotta weight
Hekate
(90,643 posts)I was just a kid then, but the general consensus was that he went after those thugs with, as his older brother would say, with vigah.
Please find us a real prosecutor, Joe.
MichMan
(11,909 posts)Grasswire2
(13,567 posts)Here we go.
POTUS can't directly talk to Garland, but someone in WH can leak what his feelings are.
Let's roll.
jalan48
(13,859 posts)Marius25
(3,213 posts)jalan48
(13,859 posts)FoxNewsSucks
(10,429 posts)It would be an incredibly stupid reason.
Garland is no doubt qualified to be on the Supreme Court, and if pity were actually a big factor, making him the next nominee for that would have been a more understandable thing to do.
Deminpenn
(15,278 posts)No doubt in my mind, being US Atty Genl was a consolation prize for Garland.
The easiest way to get Garland out of the way might be to renominate him for a federal judgeship. He could go back to the DC circuit, but it's handling the Jan 6th cases and he'd have to recuse himself from all of those. 3rd circuit might be a good landing spot for him. Or maybe he could be lateralled to another cabinet position.
I think Garland has integrity, but even though he was a prosecutor at one time, years of being a federal judge have made him way too slow. He seems to weighing every move like he's a judge. Prosecutors now have to make their case to two judges, the one who's their boss and the one who be assigned to their case.
AlexSFCA
(6,137 posts)who knows how long he can remain AG, act to the fullest extent of the law possible to prosecute as many as possible. Let judges decide fate. I bet if Kamala was AG, shed prosecute the shit out trump. She was extremely successful tough on crime prosecutor both at SF City level and as AG of California. Bold, strong, uncompromising leadership is so needed right now.
FoxNewsSucks
(10,429 posts)I wanted her for AG.
Careful, thorough and precise is certainly needed. But we also needed an AG that is a bold ass-kicker. I'm not sure Garland is that, but I have no doubt about Harris.
Chainfire
(17,530 posts)could get a conviction on Trump if 10% of what I reasonably believe to be true is in fact true.
The end of this is preordained and nothing us mortals think or do about it will change that.
Celerity
(43,307 posts)liberalmuse
(18,672 posts)He's been a colossal disappointment as AG and may have been a better USSC justice since he's acting like one.
Polybius
(15,381 posts)Trump fired Sessions, among many others. I'm in no way defending Trump, btw.
former9thward
(31,979 posts)It is not in the link.
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)source - - "Biden has said in private conversation" (according to someone the reporter actually spoke to? and was that source a first party witness to this statement?)
And the "sounds like Biden disappointed" is purely the 'opinion' of the OP.
WA-03 Democrat
(3,044 posts)Come on down!
Blue Owl
(50,349 posts)Not a Slobfather-enabling zero...
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)I wish he would say something now.
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)The article isn't behind a paywall for a change, so we know this is the source: "... according to two people familiar with his comments." Familiar with? So, did they even hear the comment?
This article is based on interviews with more than a dozen people, including officials in the Biden administration and people with knowledge of the presidents thinking, all of whom asked for anonymity to discuss private conversations.
In a statement, Andrew Bates, a White House spokesman, said the president believed that Mr. Garland had decisively restored the independence of the Justice Department.
President Biden is immensely proud of the attorney generals service in this administration and has no role in investigative priorities or decisions, Mr. Bates said.
.... Justice Department officials do not keep Mr. Biden abreast of any investigation ..........
...... Despite Mr. Bidens private frustrations with the attorney general, several people who speak regularly to the president said he had praised Mr. Garland as among the most thoughtful, moral and intelligent people he had dealt with in his career.
The two men did not know each other well when Mr. Biden selected him for the job. .......
agingdem
(7,845 posts)and Maureen Dowd..enough said...
True Blue American
(17,984 posts)Not after what we witnessed out of Barr. Biden is much too smart to interfere.
I think Garland is waiting to get all the facts together. He just hired 132 new Hudges. That tells me he is going full speed ahead. After he has the facts.
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)than the slant the article (and OP) is trying to spin. Biden has been strictly hands off - consistently - and that's precisely the way it should be.
(there are undoubtedly other people within the party - and perhaps the administration - who would prefer a more proactive stance - but it isn't coming from Joe)
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)personality, we have an institutionalist AG who is polite and nice to everyone. We need a nasty SOB who knows how to play hardball. There is a time and place for Garlands personality, and now, after an attempted coup is not the time for nice guys or gals. Love to Schiff or Yates as AG.
L. Coyote
(51,129 posts)jalan48
(13,859 posts)FoxNewsSucks
(10,429 posts)Schiff, Yates and Spitzer are all Democrats.
In fact, if Spitzer hadn't been so effective, there wouldn't have been such effort to end his career. Like Al Franken, losing him was a big hit to the Democratic side of things.
oldsoftie
(12,531 posts)both democrats.
Response to oldsoftie (Reply #65)
Post removed
Marius25
(3,213 posts)criticized Garland too.
Grasswire2
(13,567 posts)Haven't we had enough of this on DU?
Beastly Boy
(9,308 posts)From the same article:
There is unrelenting pressure from Democrats to hold former President Donald J. Trump and his allies accountable for the violence that unfolded at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Federal prosecutors would have no room for error in building a criminal case against Mr. Trump, experts say, given the high burden of proof they must meet and the likelihood of any decision being appealed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/us/politics/merrick-garland-biden-trump.html
But this doesn't sound as catchy in a tweet as what Biden said privately to an unidentified person a couple of months ago, does it?
True Blue American
(17,984 posts)Of a writer publishing his opinion?
Beastly Boy
(9,308 posts)of a writer publishing his opinion, which is not supported by, and at times contrary to, other parts of the same narrative.
True Blue American
(17,984 posts)Beastly Boy
(9,308 posts)It's like somebody tells a long story and all I want to hear from it is a single short sentence.
Lucky Luciano
(11,253 posts)A tight lipped accurate prosecution takes time and has no margin for error.
agingdem
(7,845 posts)and forgive me if I don't trust anything that comes from the NYT
Lucky Luciano
(11,253 posts)Some here defend Garland without question.
Adam Schiff was a credible critic of Garland. Now Biden is saying WTF too.
Time to get serious about threats to our entire way of life.
former9thward
(31,979 posts)It is not in the story. A made up quote.
agingdem
(7,845 posts)however, both the J6 committee and the DOJ are still gather evidence Ill give them that but how about a little multitasking here, like collate the evidence AND hold hearings And indict Trump now waiting!
Lucky Luciano
(11,253 posts)Throwing them under the jail instead of letting them laugh at us would be a great start.
agingdem
(7,845 posts)with lots of media in tow .escort them to the hearing room and if they refuse a sit-down then arrest them
Deminpenn
(15,278 posts)is what's rankling Dems on the Jan 6th committee.
But, now we know there's a GJ investigating the planning and financing of the rally, then riot. Meadows would be a very, if not the, key witness for them because he obviously knows a lot from just the text messages he turned over to the committee and that the parts that have been publically released by them.
Maybe DoJ doesn't want to indict Meadows because they have bigger plans for him to be supoenaed and to testify in front of the GJ. Maybe Meadows is to Trump as Dean was to Nixon.
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)Schiff is entitled to his opinion (and in fact has a little more freedom there than POTUS) - but by all credible accounts the president doesn't share it - and is making no move into that corner.
It's all spun like so much cotton candy.
48656c6c6f20
(7,638 posts)Because Pootin might use nukes.
KPN
(15,642 posts)Bout time reality struck.
FakeNoose
(32,630 posts)It's a different world when you have to answer to the people. Also you have to answer to your President.
tavernier
(12,377 posts)True Blue American
(17,984 posts)stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)Raven123
(4,828 posts)Go to the juicy stuff. Geez.
usaf-vet
(6,181 posts).... with someone who will!
I feel like we are heading to another Mueller laughing catastrophe.
If TFG is not prosecuted, why should I or anyone believe the laws are meant for everyone.
When he asked an official in Georgia to "find me 11,780 ballots." HE BROKE THE LAW!
Prosecute him on that to start!!!!! There is a tape of him saying that, period!
Here is the link: https://tinyurl.com/Trump11780
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)and has made clear (quite publicly and pointedly) on a number of different occasions. You can disagree with that position (vigorously if you so choose) - but he's been pretty straightforward about his role as POTUS.
Tweet media not withstanding ...
TeamProg
(6,115 posts)No one will ever say that the A.G is unbiased again.
Its open season on the DOJ.
calimary
(81,212 posts)Cmon, Mr. President! Youre well-known and widely-acknowledged for doing the right thing.
Get your A.G. to do the right thing here, dammit! Surely BY NOW hes got enough solid evidence to seek formal redress!
Lonestarblue
(9,971 posts)When considering insurrection and an attempted coup to overthrow the US government, 15 months is a lifetime. Im glad Garland is finally investigating, but if he proceeds at the same pace, it will be 2024 before any serious charges are brought.
Garland has also lost the news cycle, and as a federal judge he probably had no need to think about the need to communicate. He didnt need to announce details, but Garland spent months saying nothing while Republicans changed the narrative from an attack to patriotic rights. We might all hate the 24/7 news cycle we live in, but its reality and when you ignore it false narratives are allowed to take over.
Emile
(22,669 posts)SARCASM
Novara
(5,840 posts)I get it. But if the J6 committee and the DoJ don't give Democratic voters SOMETHING to show that they will hold ALL of the traitors responsible, the Dems are going to be wiped out this November. If the Dems lose the House this fall, there will be no accountability because the J6 committee will be shut down.
And what if Garland decides he doesn't have a tight enough case to indict? All of these traitors walk free to take over our government.
dchill
(38,471 posts)Just a quote I feel is being ignored. It IS true, by the way.
soldierant
(6,847 posts)After the revelation (I suspect an "authorized leak" that there's been a grand jury for two months working (up to now with NMO leals) I kind of ecxpected to come here snd see a few mild apologies. But it's as if the news never happened.
I personally would not have used the term "Garland haters." I don't see hate for Garland here. Just lack of faith.
Marius25
(3,213 posts)soldierant
(6,847 posts)Perhaps you didn't. But there have been some.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)not having enough concrete evidence has on all this. No one wants to lose. No one wants the wrath of trump with the allegations of partisanship. These are realities that wouldn't be so important were it not an x-prez and the craziest horror of a human ever.
Emile
(22,669 posts)didn't start at the top and work his way down has me and millions of other folks very concerned. There's enough evidence to handcuff him and lock him up for trial.
.
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)It is not universally shared. There's a good deal of opinion (legal and otherwise) that the prosecution of TFG is not the slam-dunk prospect that many imagine it to be. (particularly for actions taken on Jan 6th) And the post you responded to pointed to the substantial damage that an 'unsuccessful' prosecution might bring. These and other things are points that others are taking into account - in forming their own opinions.
Emile
(22,669 posts)you should start a poll?
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)believe I said that your opinion was not universal ...
does that somehow chafe?
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)legally nailed. Hence the burner phones. Hence the cover of thousands of the non violent yahoos. Hence the cover of a rally.
1,000,000% they are guilty as hell in planning and organizing this 1-6 travesty. Does that translate to successful legal prosecution?, we can only hope.
As for his financial crimes, don't know if this is true, but read sources saying that the issue is that FG used valid FS's when it mattered? ( See how well the criminal plays chess?). Hope that's not true.
Have a haunting memory of post impeachment II... They asked the legal panel at the time about prosecution. I remember them saying there wouldn't be one. Because if they couldn't nail FG et al in a political procedure then they wouldn't in a legal procedure where the rules of evidence were much tougher
bucolic_frolic
(43,128 posts)I wouldn't expect a long-time federal judge to necessarily excel at all aspects of that role. From a managerial perspective, a former large state AG would have more experience at managing a large bureaucracy. Don't know if that is any part of the slow path we're on, but thought to mention it.
BlueWavePsych
(2,635 posts)mudstump
(342 posts)And replace him with someone who understands we are fighting a real battle for our democracy.
Orrex
(63,202 posts)When I have expressed impatience at the lack of apparent forward motion in the investigation of crimes obvious to every conscious human on the planet, I have been chastised for failing to believe that The System is working inexorably behind the scenes toward justice.
Perhaps those same thoughtful message-managers can explain to Biden why they think he's wrong.
Emile
(22,669 posts)Orrex
(63,202 posts)They didn't have much to say last week when Schiff likewise commented on the DoJ's conspicuous lack of forward movement, either.
Novara
(5,840 posts)When even Adam Schiff is frustrated and says he isn't seeing movement, that tells me that everything I suspect about Garland hiding in the corner hoping we don't notice him may be true. I mean, don't you think we'd be hearing from the shitty lawyers the former administration uses if their clients are being subpoenaed? If their records are being subpoenaed? Maybe Garland's people can keep their mouths shut and lot leak anything (but I doubt it), but the other side? They can't wait to cry victim. Their raison d'etre is to cry victim. To me, the fact that they are silent means nothing is happening.
I hope I'm wrong. But the last five years have taught me to be completely cynical. One thing that mfer knows how to do is to evade justice.
stopdiggin
(11,295 posts)of people going directly at the OP (from a number of different angles - including a gross misrepresentation of Biden's position)
there's been no avoidance, my friend ...
----- -----
Kablooie
(18,625 posts)And our country may be in serious danger because of it.
llashram
(6,265 posts)is AG Garland knows he has a case and is waiting to lower the boom at a moment trump and his lawyers CANNOT slither out of being prosecuted to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW... otherwise...
Stargleamer
(1,989 posts)Better late than never.