Why Did President Biden NOT invoke The Insurrection Act after his inauguration?

[Alexander Of Assyria]

Invoking the Insurrection Act temporarily suspends the Posse Comitatus rule and allows the president to deploy the military to assist civilian authorities with law enforcement. That might involve soldiers doing anything from enforcing a federal court order to suppressing an uprising against the government. Of course, not every domestic use of the military involves law enforcement activity.

Other laws, such as the Stafford Act, allow the military to be used to respond to natural disasters, public health crises, and other similar events without waiving the restrictions of the Posse Comitatus Act.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained

…..

Upon hindsight the Republican chorus of condemnation of insurrection and insurrectionists that lasted for a month after the Republican Party led coup attempt wasn’t out of genuine shock or horror, it was out of a desire that The Insurrection Act not be used to quickly ferret out the treason..

Then the treasonous liars did a complete 360 when that didn’t happen…and the long drawn out process of major criminal investigations x1001 dragged out…and is still dragging despite the impressive DOJ roadkill numbers of all the useful J6 human bots.

…so began the long long process of standard criminal investigation, prosecution, sentencing of ALL the insurrectionists, big and small, idiots and evil geniuses… their planners, their inside job politicians and hatchet men, Kraken counsel, Ted Cruz?! Years and counting. All the while impeded by those that did the 360.

Trudeau did it, did it legally, and did it to rid the national capital of a gaggle of truckers and Justin time.

Hardly compares though. Suppressing a national insurrection, truckers?

Hesitated…now its insurrection part 2.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. The Attempted Insurrection and the Canadian "convoy" protests are not comparable, in so many ways.nt

[Alexander Of Assyria]

2. Precisely, as One was much more serious.

And one continues.

[Sympthsical]

3. Because overreaching with an authoritarian act would have been terrible?

And President Biden is wise enough to know that such an action would have aggravated things immensely. It was better to defuse their momentum by having the DoJ methodically crush them all under the inexorable weight of the law.

And what would the military have done? What would you have had them do after January 20th? Where would they go? Who would they arrest? What law enforcement functions would they serve that the DoJ could not have handled?

And, as ever, it's always important to remember - whatever precedent we set will be eagerly followed by Republicans using it, and it would no doubt not be for reasons we'd enjoy.

[Walleye]

5. Republicans eagerly follow precedents that even only one of us may have suggested it one time

[Sympthsical]

13. Imagine if there's a protest

And suddenly Republicans decide, "Antifa is in a state of insurrection, wheeeeee!"

Once you declare open season for these things, it is very difficult to undeclare it.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

17. Republicans eagerly followed the never before precedent of violent, planned insurrection.

[Sympthsical]

19. It's important to think steps ahead

Instead of immediate reactive overreaction.

Good leaders do the former. Terrible ones the latter.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

21. The Insurrection Act should be repealed. Replaced. It's too nebulous, open to abuse.

Not having been used when it should have been… maybe because it’s the law that’s bad and a good man didn’t want to use it…Trump tried to use it in a twisted backwards way to support his insurrection attempt, the first one…

[Sympthsical]

23. I can agree with that

I read the Brennan Center article and generally agree with their views on the vagueness of the law and how it could be open to abuse on account.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

24. Dodged a bullet with trump...am amazed issue hasn't been raised in Congress...or publicized?

[Walleye]

28. I still can't figure out how so many people fell for that and got to that point

[Alexander Of Assyria]

29. Good thing can't ever happen again! Not like CNN is hosting a town hall for the coup leader!

[Walleye]

30. I know, right? How long are we going to be stuck in this goddamn loop

[Alexander Of Assyria]

31. I defended CNN until now...that's it...I can't be the only one made that mistake.

Apologies.

[Walleye]

33. I switched to the cheapest cable service when I retired and haven't gotten the cable news channels

I consider myself lucky at that.Course I have seen a few clips and so forth

[Alexander Of Assyria]

15. Trudeau was called many things when used temporary emergency law to suppress a local revolt.

Turns out he was not any of those things, as determined by Parliament after mandatory review.

Emergency laws, justified, are temporary, specific, targeted…intended to minimize future harm…like the future harm happening now.

[Walleye]

4. Seems like not such a good idea, thinking on the anniversary of the Kent state shooting

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Biden would have been stupid to invoke the Insurrection Act. magats were hoping for it

Biden is not stupid.

[tritsofme]

7. Because Biden and his people are not idiots.

[onenote]

8. Because the situation after Biden's inauguration didn't justify its use?

The Insurrection Act provides that "Whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, he may call into Federal service such of the militia of any State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to enforce those laws or to suppress the rebellion."

At the time President Biden was sworn in and at all times thereafter, it was and has not been "impracticable" to enforce the laws of the US in any state by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

18. ...unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages...

Lot of wiggle room there.

[onenote]

25. What unlawful obstructions, combinations or assemblages were taking place in late January

after Biden was inaugurated? And if such things were taking place, why wasn't it practicable for law enforcement to deal with them. Hundreds have been arrested and prosecuted under the normal course.

No one would have advised Biden to invoke the Insurrection Act under the circumstances prevailing then (or now).

[Alexander Of Assyria]

27. No reasonable logic would say it was all over and the mob boss was going to take a break.

[onenote]

32. And no reasonable person would argue that law enforcement couldn't handle the situation

Fortunately, Biden has reasonable people advising him.

[FBaggins]

9. There was no insurrection at that point

One could reasonably argue that the events of 1/6 were an attempt to start a rebellion, but by 1/21 there was nothing that justified deploying military units to put down that rebellion.

[wnylib]

10. Pointless question.

Biden was not in a position to do anything about J6 until after his inauguration a few weeks later.

A suspension of Posse Comitatus and use of the military to maintain order is effective only in situations where there is actual ongoing physical violence and rioting. That is not what the situation was later in January when Biden officially became president. The physical attack on the Capitol was over. Invoking the Insurrection Act would only have caused unnecessary military rule. Once the physical attack was over, investigation and arrest of the perpetrators was what was needed, not a military state. We do not use the military for criminal investigations in the US, unless the crime was committed by a member of the military.

[Thomas Hurt]

11. Not certain when exactly you think Biden should have done this?

[Iggo]

14. About three weeks after the failed insurrection.

So…yeah….

[sarisataka]

12. You would have to ask him

But I suspect his answer would be along the lines of "I'm not a dictator"

Here's how China does it.

Is that the image of Washington DC we want?

[Alexander Of Assyria]

16. The purpose of the emergency declaration not military so much as rapid investigation, arrest.

Major suspects still evade their justice and are fomenting another insurrection, right?…., the truckers justice was swift and they didn’t even really do any kind of insurrection then, or since.

[sarisataka]

20. You stated

Invoking the Insurrection Act temporarily suspends the Posse Comitatus rule and allows the president to deploy the military to assist civilian authorities with law enforcement.

The military isn't going to be able to help with investigations. That is not their training, except for JAG and the DOJ is far larger with more resources.

The military would either be making arrests and/or conducting tribunals. That is what we see in authoritarian countries.

The Canadian trucker situation was completely different. It was an active situation with a clear goal/end point.

Biden invoking the Insurrection Act would have had no clear immediate goal. It would have been, and still be, an open ended use of the US military against its own citizens. Exactly what we accuse Republicans of wanting to do.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

22. Valid points. The insurrection Act is open to much abuse, got lucky trump didn't use it..he tried.

I would have seen in those case, the military assisting law enforcement in NOT traditional military by tanks and guns ways…investigation, surveillance, search and seizure, is part and parcel of law enforcement I think.

And intimidation of any trump militias we now know standing by, as ordered.

[Demsrule86]

26. IMHO, it is because Biden has a working brain. That would have been a very bad idea.