Merrick Garland: Justice’s Rain Delay. He would have been terrible on the Supreme Court–worse than Stephen Breyer. He’s enabling criminals and insurrectionists:
The attorney general’s deliberative approach has come to frustrate Democratic allies of the White House and, at times, President Biden himself. As recently as late last year, Mr. Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments. And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to Mr. Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Mr. Garland said that he and the career prosecutors working on the case felt only the pressure “to do the right thing,” which meant that they “follow the facts and the law wherever they may lead.”
His critics say that his subsequent years as an appeals court judge made him slow and overly deliberative. But his defenders say that he has always carefully considered legal issues, particularly if the stakes were very high — a trait that most likely helped the Justice Department secure a conviction against Timothy J. McVeigh two years after the Oklahoma City attack.
Some officials see their limited interactions as an overcorrection on the part of Mr. Garland and argue that he does not need to color so scrupulously within the lines. But it may be the only logical position for Mr. Garland to take, particularly given that both of Mr. Biden’s children are involved in active investigations by the Justice Department.
Of course, one reason that Biden and Garland have kept their distance is b/c two of Biden’s kids are under investigation. (Well, one. The other was a target of Trump’s.) Which, of course, didn’t stop Trump:
The department is investigating whether Ashley Biden was the victim of pro-Trump political operatives who obtained her diary at a critical moment in the 2020 presidential campaign, and Hunter Biden is under federal investigation for tax avoidance and his international business dealings. Hunter Biden has not been charged with a crime and has said he handled his affairs appropriately.
Palin Running For Alaska Congressional Seat. She’s not hot anymore. Which is all she had. Cut-‘n-save: I don’t think she has a chance.
Historians’ First Draft Of The Trump Presidency. You haven’t heard it all before. Just most of it.
Why Mike DeWine May Be The Last Of The Traditional Modern Republican Governors. Also, why he’s under attack. Excellent analysis. He’s a conservative, too. Just not a wingnut.
What do you want to talk about?