FBI resisted opening probe into Trump's role in Jan. 6 for more than a year

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Members of the FBI have favored TFG over the years. The NYC office of the FBI leaked on Hillary Clinton and the email story like crazy. The FBI did not want to execute the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago.

This is an amazing article on the history of the investigation and reluctance of the DOJ/FBI to abandon the normal procedure of building the case from the bottom up. This article makes clear that the DOJ was not investigating TFG until investigations by Rachel Maddow and the January 6 Committee in effect embarrassed the DOJ. It is also clear that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith was needed to move this investigation along.

Link to tweet

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/06/19/fbi-resisted-opening-probe-into-trumps-role-jan-6-more-than-year/

Hours after he was sworn in as attorney general, Merrick Garland and his deputies gathered in a wood-paneled conference room in the Justice Department for a private briefing on the investigation he had promised to make his highest priority: bringing to justice those responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021......

A Washington Post investigation found that more than a year would pass before prosecutors and FBI agents jointly embarked on a formal probe of actions directed from the White House to try to steal the election. Even then, the FBI stopped short of identifying the former president as a focus of that investigation.

A wariness about appearing partisan, institutional caution, and clashes over how much evidence was sufficient to investigate the actions of Trump and those around him all contributed to the slow pace. Garland and the deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, charted a cautious course aimed at restoring public trust in the department while some prosecutors below them chafed, feeling top officials were shying away from looking at evidence of potential crimes by Trump and those close to him, The Post found.....

The effort to investigate Trump over classified records has had its own obstacles, including FBI agents who resisted raiding the former president’s home. But the discovery of top-secret documents in Trump’s possession triggered an urgent national security investigation that laid out a well-defined legal path for prosecutors, compared with the unprecedented task of building a case against Trump for trying to steal the election......

“A decision was made early on to focus DOJ resources on the riot,” said one former Justice Department official familiar with the debates. “The notion of opening up on Trump and high-level political operatives was seen as fraught with peril. When Lisa and Garland came on board, they were fully onboard with that approach.”

Some prosecutors even had the impression that Trump had become a taboo topic at Main Justice. Colleagues responsible for preparing briefing materials and updates for Garland and Monaco were warned to focus on foot soldiers and to avoid mentioning Trump or his close allies.

It seem that both reporting on the fake electors by Rachel Maddow and the January 6 Committee hearings eventually got the DOJ and the FBI to start really investigating TFG

Politico had reported that week that the House committee had demanded and received documents from several states about fake electors as well as other efforts Trump advisers had taken to pressure state officials ahead of Jan. 6. A wave of news reports and commentary followed, including by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who devoted several nights of her show to reporting on clues that suggested Trump allies ran a coordinated scheme to try to overturn the election......

One person directly familiar with the department’s new interest in the case said it felt as though the department was reacting to the House committee’s work as well as heightened media coverage and commentary. “Only after they were embarrassed did they start looking,” the person said.

It now appears that Special Counsel Jack Smith in effect got the investigation in the TFG going in high gear. This article explains a great deal why it has taken the DOJ so long to investigate TFG and what a great job Special Counsel Jack Smith is doing to move the investigation along.

[MagickMuffin]

1. The Congressional Committee was correct all along

They complained about the slow pace of the DOJ. We were told Garland was working behind the scenes. However, they apparently didn’t feel the need to investigate the former president until the pressure was overwhelming from the committee and the media.

Perhaps this could prove a point with the maga base, Garland and the DOJ weren’t interested in investigating therefore the DOJ hasn’t been weaponized.


I guess we were right all long. At least Garland got it right by appointing Jack Smith!

[Hugh_Lebowski]

17. You cannot, as a liberal, prove your points to wingnuts, ever ever ever

They will read this information and tell you 'that's because the FBI knows Trump is INNOCENT!'

Trust me. Been trying on the internet for 25 years now.

Not one time has a single one of them accepted my evidence and said 'hey, you're right!'

[Johnny2X2X]

2. FBI is one of the most Conservative agencies in the entire government

Always has been.

If this is all true, my gripe is with Garland then, how could he let his FBI not do their jobs?

[Escurumbele]

11. You are 100% correct. So many people defending Garland and he has been, so far, a man with no

courage. To be worried about being called partisan, even though republicans do it anyway is very cowardly, that is not why he was placed in the office and position he is in. Shame on him.

[MadameButterfly]

24. with the FBI and the military stacked with conservatives

how do we protect Democracy if an AG appointed by a Democrat acts like a Republican? Our only hope is to convict before Trump takes over the government again and Garland declines to do that.

If Trump had not declared his candidacy early, we wouldn't have Jack Smith either.
If Republicans win the presidency, the House, the Senate....

To quote Frederick Douglass: "This is not time to fight with one hand, when both are needed."

[kentuck]

3. I think the FBI still has divided loyalties with Trump.

I'm not sure that Christopher Wray has always been on the same page with Garland?

[DURHAM D]

7. Wray is a Republican and member of The Federalist Society.

That is all one needs to know.

[onetexan]

10. Really need to get rid of this snake Wray. Garland needs to clean house.

[LiberalFighter]

16. Agreed. He can't clean his slate with his book when he went against DOJ policy regarding Hillary.

[gratuitous]

4. And for all the water they carried for the defendant

The FBI's thanks is to become another target of the cult's inchoate rage. Did you learn anything, G-Men?

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. Riots are spontaneous; insurrections, like J6, are planned and directed.

The Flea Bitten Idiots couldn't even get that right.

[UpInArms]

6. Every FBI Director has been a Republican

I remember when the gop refused to confirm anyone not Republican under bill clinton … we got Louis freeh

This fucking partisan bullshit must stop … rfn

The gop is anti law enforcement… they are a lawless cabal of shitfuckers

[anciano]

8. "A wariness about appearing partisan"......

Apparently investigations and prosecutions by the DOJ have to be subjected to political considerations....

[Mr. Ected]

14. Why is it that only Democrats have to defend against partisanship?

[anciano]

20. Excellent question and I wish I had an answer....

IMO "equal justice for all" should be exactly that, regardless.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

9. Aaaaaand just like that, the Merrick Garland honeymoon is over!

[Scrivener7]

22. I divorced him a long time ago.

Though I'm enjoying dating Jack Smith now.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

12. Congressman Schiff was correct about the DOJ investigation

Link to tweet

[NoMoreRepugs]

13. The trumpites in the FBI and DOJ have compromised the country.

[onecaliberal]

15. In other news, water is wet. I have been fried here a thousand times for calling it out in

Real time. That son of a bitch Wray needs to go now.

[Arazi]

18. Ayup, plenty of DUers were scolded many times for being "impatient"

And not believing that Garland was actually investigating #Traitor.

Really irritating then, and no consolation on being right now

[Scrivener7]

23. Yep. But that group is just overly voluble. I don't think this is a surprise to most of us.

[Catherine Vincent]

19. This really ticks me off

Trump got passes all his life and Garland was going to give him another one until he was pressured.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

21. Rachel Maddow embarrassed the DOJ into investigating Trump

Rachel's coverage of the fake electors worked.

Link to tweet

https://www.politicususa.com/2023/06/19/rachel-maddow-embarrassed-the-doj-into-investigating-trump.html

The DOJ had refused to investigate Trump and coup co-conspirators because they did not want to look political, and leadership didn’t think they had enough evidence. The National Archives wanted an investigation into the fake elector documents but were turned down.

The Washington Post reports on what changed the DOJ’s mind:

Politico had reported that week that the House committee had demanded and received documents from several states about fake electors as well as other efforts Trump advisers had taken to pressure state officials ahead of Jan. 6. A wave of news reports and commentary followed, including by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who devoted several nights of her show to reporting on clues that suggested Trump allies ran a coordinated scheme to try to overturn the election.

In the last of those episodes, on Jan. 13, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) announced that she had referred the matter of fake electors to federal prosecutors — that day. She called the scheme “forgery of a public record” under Michigan law but said the Justice Department would be best suited to prosecute a multistate effort.
….
One person directly familiar with the department’s new interest in the case said it felt as though the department was reacting to the House committee’s work as well as heightened media coverage and commentary. “Only after they were embarrassed did they start looking,” the person said.

If the 1/6 Committee was not investigating. If Rachel Maddow wasn’t putting pieces together. If state and local law enforcement officials were not calling out the fake elector plot, Trump might have gotten away with an attempted coup. Public pressure matters. Journalism matters, and having people at all levels of government who are willing to do the right thing matters.