Attorney General Merritt Garland has made several decisions since taking office that is making Democrats and the media doubtful about whether he will pursue investigations and allow indictments to be issued against Donald Trump, William Barr, and all other former members of the Trump Administration accused of federal crimes. In recent weeks, the Garland DOJ has ruled against the lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll charging Trump with defamation in his reaction to her claim that he raped her in a department store in New York in the 1990s They have sided with Trump’s DOJ’s position which said Trump’s behaviors occurred within the scope of the presidency and therefore he could not be sued. The alleged assault occurred decades before he was president.
Garland’s DOJ also blocked the release of a DOJ memo written in 2017 which summarized the findings of the Mueller Report. The memo was ordered to be made public by Judge Aimee Berman, citing Barr as grossly misrepresenting the DOJ’s findings in the Russia probe. Garland is taking actions that are aligned with the issues that protect Americans’ rights and liberties and which are restoring the integrity and constitutionally prescribed role of the DOJ. However, he is making no moves on the many violations of law and ethics committed by Barr and Trump.
Garland had made general statements proclaiming his commitment to prosecuting those who have broken the law, no matter who they are. He has singled out the insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol and white supremacist terror groups as targets of DOJ investigations. However, what about the countless acts of corruption Barr committed in defense of Trump’s autocratic, dishonest assaults on democracy?
Additionally, what about Trump;
- Being named as a co-conspirator in the campaign finance crime that his attorney Michael Cohen was sent to prison for committing?
- Committing the six charges of obstruction of justice Trump was accused of in the Mueller Report, that Mueller said he could be indicted for after he left office
- Lying in his writing, under oath testimony to Special Counsel Robert Mueller
- Knowingly making false statements to the American people about the danger of COVID-19, and discouraging people to protect themselves by wearing masks
- Violating the emoluments clause to profit off the office of the presidency
Legal experts and political pundits are putting pressure on Garland to hold accountable anyone in the prior administration who broke laws in their pursuit of power and self-enhancement while in office. It won’t matter who the person, agency, or judge is that tries to hold Trump accountable for his corruption, he will call them partisan witch-hunters. This tired, defensive narrative makes it obvious to most Americans that he is guilty of every crime he is suspected of committing .
Millions of Americans and the severely damaged Department of Justice are hoping Merritt Garland understands that ignoring the crimes committed by the past administration will not heal the country. Additionally, it will not deter future political enemies of the constitution from once again trying to destroy the American democracy and replace it with an authoritarian autocracy.
