Merrick Garland Plays Pontius Pilate

[gab13by13]

DOJ had all of the evidence about Hunter Biden's crimes. Hunter committed tax fraud while in the throes of drug addiction. Hunter lied on his form to buy a gun. DOJ knew all of that and there was a plea deal all ready to go forward until the Magat masses shouted out "crucify him, crucify him."

About that tax fraud:

How common are cases like this? Criminal tax cases generally are very rare, said Beverly Moran, a tax law expert at Vanderbilt University. The average American has almost as good a chance of winning the lottery as being criminally prosecuted for tax fraud, she said, based on 2021 data from the Internal Revenue Service.

But the crowd screamed all the louder, "crucify him, crucify him." So Merrick Garland washes his hands and defers to the Magat crowd and appoints a special counsel to investigate the evidence that was already investigated.

And so, even though cases of prosecution for tax fraud, when the fraudster pays all of the back taxes he owes, is extremely rare, Hunter Biden is awaiting his punishment. In the spirit of not being partisan, Merrick Garland didn't indict Hunter Biden, the special counsel did.

In the spirit of not being partisan, waiting for Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate James Comer's shell company which sure looks like it was formed to commit tax fraud, not to mention to hide financial disclosure of his income to Congress.

Waiting............

[Skittles]

1. the usual apologists will be here shortly

yes indeed

[gab13by13]

3. I am ready,

Merrick Garland would have made a fantastic Supreme Court justice.

[Scrivener7]

28. Yup.

[doc03]

2. It was my understanding Hunter was cleared for at least some of the charges then

Garland stepped in with a special prosecutor and blew it up. Garland delayed the Trump investigation for J6 for two years.
He isn't much different than Bill Barr covering up the Mueller report from what I see,

[gab13by13]

4. Do not forget

he originally agreed with Bill Barr that Trump defaming E. Jean Carroll was an official duty of the office of president. A district judge even ruled against Garland's decision and finally after a year Garland dropped his defense of Trump but Carroll's lawsuit got delayed, it is coming up next month.

[ananda]

5. Why Garland is still AG is beyond me.

Biden, you could do MUCH better than that one.

[getagrip_already]

6. Just wait... we havent heard from the sc on bidens doc case yet...

Despite what the leakers are saying, he will bring charges also.

Despite the fact that no thinking prosecutor would charge him, possessing classified documents is a technical violation of the law.

If he could be charged, no matter how remotely, he will be.

The screaming mobs will demand no less and garland will not stop a special council from bringing the charges to a grand jury. He would have to report that to congress, and that would no doubt smear him as partisan. Couldn't have that.

[gab13by13]

7. Another Pontius Pilate move by Garland

You have to admit they did find classified documents in Joe's garage that was the Secret Service route to get Joe to his son's funeral.

I sure the fuck hope, like Frank Figliusi keeps asking, that DOJ is aggressively pursuing that 10 inch binder of our nation's most secret classified documents.
I read about Kash Patel demanding from the National Archives to see the binder. It went back and forth with threats from Patel. The problem was that Patel couldn't confirm that he had the proper security clearance. My guess is that Trump gave him clearance. That practice has to stop where the president can just pass out security clearances to anyone.

[Wuddles440]

11. And speaking of President Biden...

and the classified documents that were found at properties associated with him, why hasn't there been any resolution of this matter by now? To placate the conservative media assault, the MAGAT hacks in Congress, and Traitor Don, Garland somehow decided that this matter demanded an investigation by a special counsel and, so not to appear "partisan", this prosecutor needed to be a Republican. Pence was cleared months ago, why nothing regarding Biden's status? Oh wait, I know the answer to that - we're entering an election year! Also, let's not forget Garland leaving Weiss and Durham in place to pursue the conspiratorial wet dreams of the Cult of the Orange Jizzus.

[gab13by13]

12. Prosecutor David Weiss was also nominated by Trump.

[Lonestarblue]

8. I think Garland was given the AG job as consolation for not being allowed on the Supreme Court.

The jobs are very different, and he would have been better s a justice. He has been weak as an AG. After Trump and his conversion of the Republican Party into a law-breaking, anti-democracy organization, we needed someone who would clean out the Trump sycophants in the DOJ, investigate and prosecute the fake electors, and investigate and prosecute the J6 conspirators and insurrectionists from Trump on down, including those in Congress. I firmly believe that the only reason Garland finally appointed Smith is because the House J6 Committee essentially forced him to action with their collection of evidence and those powerful public presentations.

The lack of prosecution of many of Trump’s accomplices, like Jordan and others in Congress, only encourages them to do worse next time because there has been no accountability for their planning to overturn the US government.

[tritsofme]

20. That narrative is just silly, Garland accepted the SCOTUS nomination knowing he would never receive a vote

in the Senate. Before the nomination was even made, McConnell promised as much.

Obama chose Garland not because he really wanted him to sit on the SCOTUS, but to demonstrate Republican unreasonableness, that they wouldn’t even allow a vote for a relative moderate that many of their own members had suggested for other SCOTUS vacancies and voted to confirm to other positions.

President Biden picked Garland because he is the best man for the job, which he has demonstrated time and time again, despite his fantasy world detractors.

[Rebl2]

33. Thought that

all along. Wish Biden had picked someone else. Pretty sure there were a few just as qualified.

[Icanthinkformyself]

9. Weak knees

are difficult to stand on.

[Beastly Boy]

10. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

It was the judge, not the prosecutor, and not the crowd, who threw out the plea deal. It is this decision by the judge that prompted the DOJ to investigate. It is then that Garland determined there is a conflict of interest vetween DOJ and the office of the President. It was then that Garland determined that it was in the public interest to appoint a special counsel.

Just like the law requires him to do:

§ 600.1 Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.

The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted and—

(a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating Division of the Department of Justice would present a conflict of interest for the Department or other extraordinary circumstances; and

(b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter.

Don't tell me that you are ignorant of this statute. You were made aware of it on DU a number of times. I may be getting a wrong impression but it seems like you are disregarding what you already know in order to satisfy a weirdly persistent urge to pile on Garland. Prove me wrong.

And you can wait until hell freezes over, but an AG may not, by law, appoint a special counsel if there is no conflict between DOJ and the office of the President. Remind me: Comer is not presently serving as President, is he?

Call me Pontius Pilate, but every single time I respond to bullshit, I feel an urgent need to wash my hands off of it after I'm done.

[TwilightZone]

13. Good luck.

[gab13by13]

14. Did you read paragraph 1 of the statute you cut and pasted?

Appointment of a special counsel has to be warranted. What new evidence did David Weiss uncover that wasn't already known?

Where does that statute address a conflict with the president? The office of the president has nothing to do with "conflict of interest."

Merrick Garland did not have to appoint Jack Smith because of a conflict of interest and Merrick Garland did not have to appoint special counsels to investigate Hunter Biden and Joe Biden because of a conflict of interest, that was Merrick Garland's rules.

Section b, of your cut and paste. the Pontius Pilate rule, may apply but not the rest of the statute.

If Chris Christie or Nikki Haley murder someone DOJ is not required to appoint a special counsel.

Hunter Biden isn't president either last I checked, neither is Trump.

[Beastly Boy]

29. You've got to be kidding.

Did YOU read paragraph 1 of the statute? Does it make an AG's determination contingent on new evidence? Does it even make any sense that a determination to seek new evidence, which is what "investigation" entails, is contingent on new evidence?

How does DOJ's mandate to represent the interests of the office of the Presidency not conflict with investigating the President's son?

This statute gives Garland the exclusive discretion to determine whether an investigation of any matter is warranted, and whether or not to appoint a special counsel. Garland didn't HAVE to do it, but given that the conditions of section (a) and (b) of the statute have been met, why would anyone in their right mind be suspicious of Garland's decision?


And, notwithstanding your astute observation that Hunter Biden isn't president the last you checked, and neither is Trump, Hunter Biden is still the son of the serving president, and Trump is still the candidate running for the office held by the serving President.

Likewise, if Nikki Haley were to murder Chris Christie, Garland would have no business to appoint special counsel. But if she were to murder Hunter Biden, Garland would have every right to appoint one. Can you tell why this is the case?

No? C'mon, read the statute again!

[tritsofme]

32. I've been watching Shawshank Redemption on cable this morning, the phrase that comes to mind is:

How can you be so obtuse?

[Oopsie Daisy]

15. No. You do not have the wrong impression. Your observations are right on target.

[Fiendish Thingy]

17. There you go, injecting facts into a perfectly uninformed rant. Nt

[gab13by13]

19. Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur, he did not have to.

Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss, he didn't have to. Facts.

Hunter Biden is not president, Merrick Garland appointed Davis Weiss to investigate Hunter's tax fraud and gun application crime that were already investigated. The only thing that Weiss did was to indict Hunter absolving Garland from any involvement.

My question stands: James Comer appears to have created a similar shell company as Hunter Biden to avoid paying taxes. Comer also did not declare his income from the shell company on his House financial disclosure forms.

When will Merrick Garland appoint a special counsel to investigate Comer Simpson? This question has nothing to do with who the president is.

[Fiendish Thingy]

31. Why is a special counsel justified for Comer?

Why wouldn’t a standard DOJ investigation (which wouldn’t be public unless it had progressed to the point of a target letter) suffice?

[Beastly Boy]

39. Speaking of insulting BS:

Glad you noticed. I like you too.

On a totally unrelated subject: Insult comedy is a recognized genre, and I am a fan. It often exposes elementary fallacies that are obvious but take too long to explain to people who are resistant to logic and reason.

[LymphocyteLover]

21. "an AG may not, by law, appoint a special counsel if there is no conflict between DOJ and the office of the President."

That seems awkwardly worded.

Do you mean the AG *must* appoint a special counsel if there is a conflict between DOJ and the office of the President?

[Beastly Boy]

37. Guilty, and my apologies for the awkward phrasing.

Let me try again and see if I can make more sense:

Under the statute I cited, an AG has no authority to appoint a special counsel unless conflict of interest is likely to occur.

If the conflict of interest is likely, and if all other conditions under the staute are met, an AG may, at his sole discretion, appoint a special counsel.

[LymphocyteLover]

41. That makes sense, thanks!

[PortTack]

34. ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

[onecaliberal]

16. Fiddling while watching the country burn. Where are his apologists now?!?

[LymphocyteLover]

22. He's doing his job and following the law and letting special counsels do their job

He is actually better not being seen as being political or politicizing justice.

[gab13by13]

25. Not being political towards whom?

Merrick Garland is definitely not being political towards Republicans.

Garland has ignored criminal referrals from the J6 committee for Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino, definitely not being partisan to them.

Garland ignored a criminal referral from Dana Nessel the Michigan AG to investigate the fake electors, definitely not being partisan to them.

Thousands of complaints to the DOJ hot line about threats to election workers, school board members, librarians, the National Archives, the FBI and DOJ has indicted 3 people. We were told this would be taken care of when Kristen Clark was confirmed to the civil right division of DOJ.

[LymphocyteLover]

36. so you honestly think he is protecting these people

as opposed to following the best course of law?

[gab13by13]

23. Our foreign agents were murdered

most likely because of information released from the 10 inch binder. Kash Patel plays deadly games with the National Archives trying to get his hands on that binder. Kash Patel doesn't even have the security clearance yet he has the balls to demand that NARA give him that binder. I hope to hell that DOJ is investigating Patel.

Donald Trump stated that Mark Meadows has the binder, Cassidy Hutchinson saw it in Meadow's car. I hope to hell that DOJ is investigating Mark Meadows.

What is going to happen is that our allies are not going to trust us with sensitive intelligence, we probably had to go in and extricate our foreign agents before they get killed but Trump's favorite judge stalls the stolen document trial.

[onecaliberal]

26. My guess is there are probably not many, if any left at all. Treason of the highest order and the DOJ can't be bothered.

If your last name is Biden, however, special prosecutors will be appointed swiftly and without thought to politics.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

43. Unfortunately,

"Our foreign agents were murdered most likely because of information released from the 10 inch binder."

Prosecutors require actual evidence to present to a grand jury. Unnamed agents "most likely" "murdered" by undisclosed info from a mysterious "10 inch binder" seems less than compelling.

https://www.justice.gov/ is a great place to start researching what the AG and the DOJ are doing.

[capechacon]

24. While Garland, the DOJ and judiciary dither over legal minutiae....

we are losing our republic.

Biden could not have chosen an Attorney General more unsuited to deal effectively with the dangerous circumstances we face.

[gab13by13]

27. I would not go that far,

Garland is an honest, decent, patriotic man, I criticize his actions or inactions.

[Fiendish Thingy]

35. So you believe Garland is weak, slow and ineffective

But Biden shouldn’t fire him?

[sop]

30. For the last few years they've been saying justice would finally be served, and folks just had to be "patient."

Last edited Mon Dec 18, 2023, 01:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Yet here we are heading into the 2024 election with Trump still on the loose, channeling Hitler on the stump, preaching hate and violence, physically threatening judges and prosecutors, thumbing his nose at the entire legal system, while a prohibitive favorite to win his party's nomination and leading Biden in numerous polls. God help us all if this is what justice looks like.

[CrispyQ]

42. Quote from a fellow DUer:

And the voters will be warned to get to the polls to stop the tyrant from winning...

They expect lightning in the bottle twice.

2024 is going to be chaos on steroids. The only way I'll feel confident Trump won't be president again is if he's six feet under so I hope the fucker dies.

Tonight would be good.

[Goodheart]

38. This i know..

If trump returns to the White House Garland will have earned much of the blame.

[sop]

40. Will Trump actually have to "return to the White House" for Merrick Garland to bear blame?

That his "return to the White House" is even the remotest possiblity shows we're all living in some fucked-up bizarro world. It's abundantly clear there is no justice in America any longer, not even poetic justice.