What kind of iirresponsible idiot was Merrick Garland?

[Fiendish Thingy]

176. Cherry picking facts doesn't change the reality of the story

OK, so there were four prosecutors…along with a team of investigators and field agents and lower level DOJ lawyers, who worked to indict and convict over a thousand J6 insurrectionists, as well as gather data on Trump’s role.

Many Garland bashers conveniently ignore the numerous obstacles encountered-

Executive privilege claims (which Garland’s team finally defeated, getting a favorable ruling from SCOTUS in January 2023, IIRC. That opened the floodgates for subpeonas and getting testimony from crucial witnesses, like Pence’s chief of staff.

Claims of attorney client privilege- there were something like 40 lawyers involved or at least within the orbit of Trump’s J6 conspiracy, from John Eastman and Rudy to all of Trump’s personal and presidential lawyers. None could be interviewed until the privilege question was resolved, IIRC, in late 2023.

So, critical evidence in the form of those involved with Trump in the conspiracy was largely unavailable for 2+ years after the insurrection. That’s a HUGE reason why Garland couldn’t get an indictment against Trump sooner. I mean he could have rushed the “it was all on national TV” evidence and delivered it to a grand jury, who, on the judge’s instructions on the legally required elements that must be present in order to indict (intent, conspiracy, attempt to defraud), would have returned a “no bill” (no indictment).

Think about all the testimony we heard from the J6 committee witnesses detailing events and conversations on that day- none of that testimony was available for two years or more, and couldn’t be presented to a grand jury. Most of Those witnesses were also deposed by Garland’s, and then Smith’s teams, but not until the privilege claims were resolved.

Obstruction from within the DOJ/FBI - the WaPo article you reference also confirms that Garland proceeded with investigations into Trump’s crimes as soon as he was sworn in despite active resistance and interference from pro-Trump career employees at both agencies.

And then, there were all the delays encountered from the courts, especially SCOTUS.

“It was all on National TV” is a naive perspective likely formed from an incomplete knowledge and understanding of the facts.