Merrick Garland just came as close as he can to confirming that DOJ is investigating January 6

[StarfishSaver]

"We are doing everything we can to ensure that the perpetrators of January 6 are brought to justice. We will follow the facts and the law where they land," Garland said in an interview tonight with Jane Mayer at the New Yorker Festival.

That pretty clearly tells us that investigations are ongoing. And that's as far as he can go at this point.

Perhaps that will assuage some folks who think the fact that DOJ isn't talking about the investigations means that they aren't investigating. The Attorney General just told us that DOJ is indeed conducting an investigation.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/garland-defends-doj-from-criticisms-about-charging-decisions-in-capitol-riot-cases/ar-AAP8Bzb

[Firestorm49]

1. We'll isn't that nice.

Let’s hope that we see the results before the mid terms or next presidential election.

[Ocelot II]

5. DoJ investigations do not and should not follow the political calendar.

Prosecutors take their cases to a grand jury when they have sufficient evidence to establish probable cause for an indictment, and not before. TFG's DoJ was political, as it never should have been, and shat all over the law and the Constitution. Garland's will not do that.

[jpak]

2. GOP congress critters too I hope

Yup

[Ocelot II]

3. But I thought he was just sitting at his desk eating Doritos and checking his Twitter feed!

[StarfishSaver]

4. Just wait

The goalposts are about to get moved again ...

[Ocelot II]

7. But he's supposed to tell us all about the investigation instead of just sitting there,

and not doing daily press conferences.

"Asked about the question of accountability for former President Donald Trump, Garland pointed to the department policy limiting public comments on pending investigations or individuals."

[StarfishSaver]

9. Not good enough

Don't you know, we're at WAR! We should throw away all the rules and do what Trump and the Republicans would do. That's the only way to save the Republic from Trump and the Republicans who, if they are allowed to win, will come in and throw away all of the rules!!!

[SergeStorms]

22. He's not Bill Barr.

He's an honest to goodness Attorney General, not Joe Biden's private Attorney like Barr was with Asshole45.

[sheshe2]

13. Of course.

I also doubt the "fire Garland" people will not be here tonight. We shall see.

"Prosecutors involved in this case are making determinations in every case about what charge fits the offense, what charge fits the law," Garland said during an interview for The New Yorker festival, when he was asked about the criticisms, which have come from outside observers and at least one of the judges presiding over the cases.

snip

Garland said. "We will follow the facts and the law where they land."

Bottom line is they are doing their jobs and following the letter of the law.

[dweller]

6. May be a minute

His Facebook is rebooting …


✌🏻

[Eyeball_Kid]

8. Wow, then.

I've been badmouthing Garland for weeks. I think he deserves it. He's been far too mum about the insurrection.

But this is good news, I have to say. If Garland's FBI is active and they plan on taking action, then I'd be happy to admit that I was wrong. What's important is that justice is done, and that the DOJ is doing its job.

[StarfishSaver]

11. He's SUPPOSED to be "mum."

It isn't appropriate for the AG and DOJ to discuss ongoing investigations.

[Ocelot II]

12. DoJ rules and practices *require* him to be mum.

And even if they didn't, there is no good reason why the details, or in some cases even the existence, of a criminal investigation, should be made public. Why let potential defendants know that they, specifically, are being investigated? So they can hide, falsify or destroy evidence - shred or alter documents, erase hard drives, delete texts and voicemails? Do you want a mob-boss-wannabe like TFG to be able to intimidate, threaten or bribe identified witnesses? Taint the grand jury pool? Threaten judges?

This has to be treated just like a mob prosecution, with as little information made public as possible until the grand jury's work is done.

[monkeyman1]

21. like telling sombody there will be a bounty hunter at your front door in 10 minutes!

[emmaverybo]

25. Amen. You explained why keeping mum is essential and did so perfectly. NT

[viva la]

10. ISn't the FBI part of the DOJ?

They've been arresting people since Jan 7.
I hope the AG is going after the leaders and conspirators-- Aly Alexander, Bannon, Ron Johnson.... Trump... Donnie Jr== all those at the Jan 5 meeting.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

14. To me one of the biggest clues is the waiver of Executive Privilege

That was a great clue as to what is going on in the DOJ

[Scrivener7]

15. Merry Fitzmas.

[StarfishSaver]

16. Lol

It must be exhausting moving those goalposts ...

[Scrivener7]

17. That doesn't even make sense. Have a lovely evening.

[Justice matters.]

18. "perpetrators" small fish? or mob bosses? or both?

So far, the small fish only got snaps on their hands...

[MerryHolidays]

19. I think everyone knows that the US Attorneys General, FBI, and DoJ are investigating this?

Why is this a surprise? Honestly speaking, I have no idea why an OP like this is necessary. AG Garland is basically saying we are doing our job, leave us alone.

January 6 was one of the most devastating moments in this country's history. It requires real action, not words.

You seem to be a defender of Mr. Garland, so I am curious what you think of an article like this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/07/19/merrick-garland-justice-department-catharsis/

In particular, Sen. Whitehouse's commentary on AG Garland jumped out at me:

“I’m very fond of and a great admirer of Attorney General Garland,” Whitehouse added. “But he comes out of an ivory tower judgeship, far away from a lot of the political mischief. And I’m not sure how much situational awareness he has about the forces that are operating … around the department and operated through the department, it appears, during the Trump administration.”

Have we seen real action? Sen. Whitehouse, whom I GREATLY respect, is not exactly glowing with praise with a statement like this.

[StarfishSaver]

24. The OP is necessary because the board is inundated with posts insisting

that the fact that the public hasn't been given details about investigations means no investigations are happening and no prosecutions will be forthcoming - and demanding that AG Garland say something.

Well, he did. But, of course, that hasn't satisfied most of the critics.

As for Whitehouse's comment - I also have a lot of respect for him. But if you read the article, he's not talking about Garland's approach to investigating or prosecuting Trump and his ilk or even suggesting that he does not have it in him to do it aggressively or properly. He's talking about something else altogether - institutional reforms that need to happen in order to prevent the kind of political meddling in the Department's work that Trump and Barr engaged in.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, proposes the formation of a commission made up of respected Justice Department alumni from both parties to draw lessons from the past.

I have no problem with what Sen. Whitehouse said - it doesn't conflict on any way with what I've been saying about Garland and in no way criticizes his handling of the criminal investigation into Trump and his cronies. In fact, among the proposals that Senator Whitehouse endorses are making clear the attorney general should obey the same strictures against discussing investigations in public that line prosecutors follow and taking firmer steps to ensure that improper partisan motivations do not guide actions - two things that the AG is already doing and catching hell for.

[MerryHolidays]

26. Fair enough, but Sen. Whitehouse's comment speaks for itself

I think it clearly is directed at AG Garland generally, regardless of the case. This case of January 6 is extraordinary: this is civil war/world war, and our institutions like DoJ etc need to act like it.

I have huge respect for AG Garland, but I want to see results AT SOME STAGE. Not today, but within a reasonable future. Saying that "we investigating it" is not news.

[StarfishSaver]

27. His comment was directed at Garland, but on a completely different issue

As far as I know, Sen. Whitehouse has expressed no concerns about or disagreement with how the Attorney General is handling the criminal investigation.

[Snackshack]

20. Yes, DOJ is doing...

A bang up job trying to identify and prosecute the people who broke into the Capitol building and desecrated the place even though several judges have openly wondered in court why prosecutors are going so lenient on sentencing. To the point that one judge sentenced one of the rioters to 45 days in jail when prosecutors were asking for no jail time.

It also looks like they have done superb work tracking down Nancy Pelosi laptop and arresting a mother and her son from NY.

As for the coordinators of the event and instigators who were on stage on camera and with recent revelations that a Supreme Court Justice was basically on call for if Pence followed a 6pt memo to delay certification (thankfully he did not do that). Emails showing DHS telling DOD at 130pm that there was nothing out of the order going on in DC it was all quiet except for the windows being smashed at the Capitol. As well as evidence Capitol Police were calling in at 9am reporting that hundreds of people were crossing fence lines around the Capitol well before the stop the steal rally.

So 9months later with what is growing into a mountain of evidence that 6 Jan was not just some grassroots patriots venting but a planned and coordinated assault on our Democracy there is zero evidence or reporting that DOJ is looking beyond the perimeter of the Capitol Building for perpetuators of 6 Jan.

[electric_blue68]

23. Glad he said something...

the wait is aggravating and...

I think they're trying to do it just right; crossed "t"s, dotted
"I"s etc. So there is no wiggle room.

Plus being able to lay it out clearly for all (not TFG supporters) who don't pay as much attention as we do how clearly dangerous it was (not everyone watched all/most of the footage), plus laying out the procedural of the Senate, and what was trying to be hi jacked, etc.

No doubts for the more casual viewer - might even shock some nto paying more attention.

Between TFG and actions still reverberating, Repugs in Congress, our recalcitrant twosome, and 18+ months of covid we all (most) have various extra levels
anxiety, and easier to be/get cranky (with usually some kind of good reason to be so).

[LetMyPeopleVote]

28. The Justice Department scrambles to address school board threats

The Justice Department is taking threats against school boards seriously.

Link to tweet

In recent months, there have been unsettling intimidation campaigns, largely from the far-right, targeting election officials and public health officials. But let's not forget about education officials, who are dealing with the same scourge.

As my MSNBC colleague Ja'han Jones explained last week, the National School Boards Association requested federal law enforcement assistance to address the escalating instances of harassment and acts of intimidation local officials are having to deal with.

As The Associated Press reported this morning, the Justice Department appears to be taking the matter seriously.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday directed federal authorities to hold strategy sessions in the next 30 days with law enforcement to address the increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other employees in the nation's public schools. In a memorandum, Garland said there has been "a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence against school administrators, board members, teachers, and staff who participate in the vital work of running our nation's public schools."

The AP's report added that the attorney general intends to direct the FBI to work with U.S. attorneys and federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal authorities to address the threats.

"While spirited debate about policy matters is protected under our Constitution, that protection does not extend to threats of violence or efforts to intimidate individuals based on their views," Garland said.

[mcar]

29. I must repeat myself from another OP

BUT GARLAND ISN'T DOING ANYTHING11!! HE'S IN A COMA OR SOMETHING11!!

[Zeitghost]

30. It's a pretty vague statement

He just told us the sky was blue, I wouldn't read anything into it one way or another. We know the DOJ is investigating, as can be seen by the ongoing arrests, trials, convictions and sentences. Anyone trying to use this as evidence of bigger fish getting fried is stretching.

[orangecrush]

31. What time is it, kids?