You know, maybe if Garland had indicted the f*cker on the 10 counts of Mueller obstruction,

[Goodheart]

as trump SHOULD HAVE BEEN almost immediately upon vacating the presidency, Garland wouldn't have had to deal with obstruction in this documents case. And maybe some national secrets would have been secured? And maybe Jared wouldn't have his $2 billion? And maybe even some lives would have been saved?

Yes, Garland seems to be playing everything correctly in THIS case, but what about those that preceded this one? Can you tell I'm not as delighted with him as some others here seem to be?

[brooklynite]

1. I'm not "delighted" with him at all...I merely expect him to methodically do his job...

...which has nothing to do with keeping the blogosphere happy.

[Irish_Dem]

2. Yes a very high price has been paid because Trump was allowed to commit further crimes.

Very serious ones.

[Ocelot II]

3. The AG doesn't indict, grand juries do that.

Whatever Garland does, it won’t be enough for some folks, I guess.

[Goodheart]

5. It certainly wasn't enough in the Mueller case.

And now we're dealing with THIS case of obstruction.

[Ocelot II]

17. It wasn't enough at the time because of the OSC policy that sitting presidents can't be indicted.

[Goodheart]

31. You clearly didn't read my post(s)

I said after trump vacated the presidency.

[Ocelot II]

47. I did and it's wrong. See post #43.

[uponit7771]

6. Does the DOJ need a grand jury to charge for what Mueller has accused Benedict Donald of in

... the Mueller report?

thx in advance

[Ocelot II]

13. Yes. That's how the process works.

A prosecutor at the local level, working through a federal district court, will submit evidence to a grand jury, which will have been called to sit for a period of time and usually hears multiple cases, and normally it will take a number of months because the jury doesn’t sit every day. Federal felonies will be charged by grand jury indictment, signed off by a judge. The potential crimes cited in the Mueller report were felonies, and people were indicted, some were tried and convicted.

[uponit7771]

33. Thx

[uponit7771]

4. THANK YOU !!! There's no investigation that's needed with Mueller just simply charge his ass

... and go from there.

The ONE MAIN reason I hear from MAGA in regards to TFGs criminality is he hasn't been charged yet ... that's its ... he charged yet? no ?!?!

Whatever ... is there stupid assed reply

[efhmc]

7. Not doing past. Cannot change things. Can only go from here.

And hope for the best.

[Goodheart]

9. I am certainly hoping for the best.

I wish Garland had taken seriously his declaration that "no man is above the law" where the Mueller case was concerned.

[SoCalDavidS]

8. He Hasn't Even Been Indicted Or Charged In This Situation Either

Not holding my breath, unlike many here at DU.

[Goodheart]

11. That's a good point.

I'd like to know why he hasn't been arrested. Maybe there's a valid legal explanation, maybe not. I'd like to hear it.

[Ocelot II]

14. He hasn't been arrested because he hasn't been charged or indicted, yet.

Due process applies to everybody.

[Texaswitchy]

10. Yes.

Trump is a bully with a army of rabble behind him.

Never give in to bully.

Appeasement never works.

[Scrivener7]

12. Eighteen months. I'm guessing the people on the spy payroll list

would have preferred that too. If they're not dead, that is.

[Progressive dog]

15. Gathering evidence takes time

That is the way of that constitution that requires evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. This will be a tough conviction to win with all the conspiracy theorists thinking evidence is whatever their pea brains tell them it is.

[Scrivener7]

20. How did we not know that 26 boxes of documents about our most

dangerous national secrets were missing for 18 months? Why was "gathering that evidence" even necessary?

[Progressive dog]

22. Are you a conspiracy theorist?

If you are I did call you a pea brain. If you are not, I didn't.

[Progressive dog]

25. So using pea brain to describe conspiracy theorists

was not you'r issue. Sorry, you fooled me.

[Scrivener7]

26. I misread what you were saying, and I will delete. Sorry.

[mcar]

16. Oh, is it "Garland sucks" week again?

My how time flies.

[Ocelot II]

18. Yeah, the Mierda Loco search wasn't good enough. TFG was supposed to be hauled away

in handcuffs and immediately tried and convicted, due process be damned. That didn’t happen so Garland sucks.

[lamp_shade]

21. It appears to be. A whine and cheese gathering.

[mcar]

24. Do something!

He does something.

Not that thing! Do the other thing! You suck.

[Ocelot II]

27. And that thing you did, you didn't do it soon enough! You suck.

[Scrivener7]

28. Dead or blown spies do suck, though.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

44. Yeah, apparently AG Garland is getting too much accolades and some can't stand it.

[Ocelot II]

46. It's kind of embarrassing for those who have been whining about him

and demanding he be fired, then all of a sudden he does this big thing evidencing thorough, careful investigation, and now some faces are a bit eggy.

[mcar]

49. Admitting you were wrong is a sign of maturity

Sad that some on social media cannot give up their position despite evidence proving they are wrong.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

50. +100. nt

[Kaleva]

19. How would an indictment prevented the other things?

TFG would have pleaded innocent and who knows how long it would have taken for the trial to begin.

[czarjak]

29. Billy Barr needs his comeuppance too!

[Tetrachloride]

30. Too slow: investigation of everything.

[Fiendish Thingy]

32. Here's some information to save you further embarrassment:

https://www.emptywheel.net/2022/02/10/on-unrealistic-expectations-for-mueller-report-obstruction-charges/

The potential obstruction charges arising from the Mueller investigation were far from “slam dunks”; if you follow the link, you will find a “heat map” of potential obstruction charges, and how few of them meet all legal criteria for a conviction, and even those that do only possibly meet all the criteria.

Some myths refuse to die…

[uponit7771]

34. Bill Clinton's "lies" were slam dunks? I'm just thinking TFGs issues are WAY worse than lying about

... marital infidelity.

Thx in advance

[Fiendish Thingy]

38. Who's talking about Clinton?

Trump’s crimes are indeed way worse than Clinton’s perjury, and much more difficult to prove and prosecute.

But why bring up Clinton?

[uponit7771]

41. "Who's talking about Clinton" people who want a DOJ that looks non partisan, right now it doesn't.

There is no probable cause to investigate Hunter Biden but the DOJ is

[Goodheart]

39. Exactly.... is there some rule that a conviction has to be a "slam dunk"

in order to be indictable? If so, I missed that one.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

45. Any smart AAG will tell you that if they don't believe a conviction will be a slam dunk

then they won't convene a GJ to indict, especially with Benedict Donald, suppose he's indicted and he beats the rap because it was a rushed indictment?

Yeah, guess what? That would be a disaster for the American people, the country and the world.

What's the matter, AG Garland getting too many accolades for the work of the DoJ and the FBI in putting the pieces of the puzzle together that you felt you had to throw cold water?

[Goodheart]

36. emptywheel is entitled to his/her opinion no matter how outnumbered he is.

I didn't call it a "slam dunk". I said he should have been charged, as countless other cases are charged even though they're not "slam dunks". The evidence said obstruction, even if it didn't say "slam dunk!".

And he/she doesn't address the preventative nature that might have ensued upon charges.

And now I expect you to mischaracterize THIS post by saying "you can't charge people just to prevent something in the future!".

[Fiendish Thingy]

42. The DOJ rarely, if ever indicts unless they are in "slam dunk" territory

They have something like a 97% conviction rate for a reason- they don’t indict because of a desire for vengeance.

The heat map in the emptywheel post actually originated at another site (Lawfare, IIRC). The fact that the potential Mueller obstruction charges don’t meet the criteria required for convictions has been widely discussed, not just on emptywheel.

You fail to acknowledge what the impact would have been if Trump was indicted on those “10 obstruction charges”, and then was acquitted or had the charges dismissed…

Where would the DOJ stand now if that had happened?

While prosecuting a former president has its own massive challenges in any case, The Espionage charges are less formidable than the Mueller Obstruction charges, especially in light of the June subpeona and meeting, which will go a long in proving both knowledge and criminal intent.

[fightforfreedom]

35. Not this again. How many times does this has to explained.

The AG at the time, AG Barr said not enough evidence, no crimes committed., Game over. Garland takes over after the attack on the capital, one of the biggest crimes in our history and people expect he is going to go back and litigate the Mueller investigation. That makes no sense at all. It's ridiculous.

If you want to blame someone blame Barr, not Garland.

[Goodheart]

37. Did you bother to read my post?

Doesn't look like it.

[fightforfreedom]

43. I did read your post and it is wrong.

You blame Garland. You claim he should have gone back and indicted Trump for the Mueller investigation. Then you claim he should have done it immediately after Trump left office. Garland did not take office until months after Trump left office.

Garland would have had to put a case together, reopen the Mueller investigation. How long would have that taken. You seem to believe the moment Garland took office he could have indicted Trump. It doesn't work that way. By the way, Garland was very busy dealing with Jan 6th. You are blaming the wrong person.

Blame Barr and Mueller.

[Jarqui]

40. I'm encouraged by a variety of events (many recent)

nearly 900 charged for Jan 6th - bunches of convictions and jail sentences

NY AG criminal and civil efforts for fraud and tax evasion

Appeals court deciding to release his tax returns (SCOTUS next?)

GA election case going after Rudy & Lindsey and heading for Trump

DoJ's efforts going after Trump for documents - which could spawn other legal efforts against Trump and probably will

We need to try to get DeSantis on the record asap on if he would pardon Trump or defund the FBI ..

It's all encouraging but I'm results oriented.

I need to see Trump and his enablers out of power without pardons and held to account.

Clearly, Nixon's pardon was a mistake. History cannot repeat itself.

[dclarston13]

48. I think he would have walked

And we would be worse off now