# F Merrick Garland. (He won't be going after anyone) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2022, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190 "2022-07-19T06:39:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/221 "2022-08-11T02:03:58Z")
> [@lum\_s\_husband](#): > > The key is who was President when the actions took place. But you must admit, if someone, who was not President in July of 2022, committed a crime in July of 2022, then that individual would not have the qualified immunity you claim the President has. Because in that case, Joe Biden was President when the actions took place. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/222 "2022-08-11T02:23:35Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > I agree with this. At some point, the public is owed an explanation of what’s happening, but that point is decidedly not right now Yes, this is why trials are in the public record. Now, if it never goes to trial, we might never know exactly what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/223 "2022-08-11T02:37:48Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Seriously, why the hell wouldn’t he just destroy anything incriminating right away? Don’t forget how much of a narcissist he is. Let’s say there’s a missive from Putin congratulating him on all he’s done. He’d be flush with joy. No way he’d get rid of that record. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/224 "2022-08-11T02:57:24Z")
> [@lum\_s\_husband](#): > > Who declassified them when he took possession of them? There is no evidence whatsoever that this took place. There are procedures for declassifying documents. The procedures do not include Mr. Trump waving a magic wand over them in private. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/225 "2022-08-11T03:00:44Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Seriously, why the hell wouldn’t he just destroy anything incriminating right away? Even if there is a lot, mob bosses have easy ways of getting rid of things. Flushing an individual page of notes down the toilet is something Trump can do personally, and subsequently there may be no evidence the notes ever existed. But destroying multiple boxes of (said to be) classified documents - that are well known to exist - is on a different level. Destroying them would in itself be a crime. “Losing them” is completely implausible. And they are too voluminous for His Royal Trumpness to personally flush, so it would have to involve minions. Those minions are going to be reluctant to be involved. I don’t think it’s so easy. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/226 "2022-08-11T03:22:15Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > There is no evidence whatsoever that this took place. There are procedures for declassifying documents. The procedures do not include Mr. Trump waving a magic wand over them in private. Can you point out the laws that apply here? I think the president has the authority to declassify materials at any time. I think they could do it by voice, over the phone, or in a text. The president has to be able to do that without delay to maintain the security of the country. They do not even have to inform anyone of the decision at the time, the material becomes declassified at the time the president intends it to be. Unfortunately Mr. Trump could wave a magic wand over material in private to declassify it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/227 "2022-08-11T03:24:15Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > But destroying multiple boxes of (said to be) classified documents - that are well known to exist - is on a different level. Destroying them would in itself be a crime This reminds me of a question that I had in mind early on. If the boxes that Trump took were classified (and thus presumably important), then wouldn’t they already be copied and stored somewhere; e.g.microfiche? I find it hard to understand how any evidence or record of an illegal act that Trump committed could possibly make its way into these boxes. If there was a video of Trump playing Russian water sports, who would be the one to put the DVD into the box? Surely not Trump, or his 100 million lackeys. White I assume that Trump didn’t pack the boxes himself, and just the fact that the contents of the boxes are already known, suggests to me that this really was all about retrieving original documents. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/228 "2022-08-11T03:25:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Unfortunately Mr. Trump could wave a magic wand over material in private to declassify it. Sure. ---
**Author:** ![Flopnoodle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@Flopnoodle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flopnoodle)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/229 "2022-08-11T03:30:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Unfortunately Mr. Trump could wave a magic wand over material in private to declassify it. Irrelevant, that only applies to the content of the documents, the information. Not to the physical documents themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/230 "2022-08-11T04:50:14Z")
> [@lum\_s\_husband](#): > > the President is covered under the policy of qualified immunity, so this is all a waste of time. The current President decides whether or not the former President’s claims of immunity are valid. That was the precedent set when Nixon tried to claim immunity after he resigned. So it depends on how much Biden wants to protect Trump. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/231 "2022-08-18T16:57:43Z")
> **[House GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Said Merrick Garland 'Probably Should Be...](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/carl-paladino-merrick-garland-executed_n_62fe499ae4b063894830e640)** > > When asked later for an explanation about the comment, Paladino said he was "just being facetious." Complete headline: **House GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Said Merrick Garland ‘Probably Should Be Executed’** > Republican House candidate Carl Paladino suggested on a radio show that Attorney General [Merrick Garland](https://www.huffpost.com/topic/merrick-garland) “probably should be executed” following the [FBI](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/fbi) search of President [Donald Trump](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump)’s Florida estate last week, according to [The Buffalo News](https://buffalonews.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/on-radio-show-paladino-said-merrick-garland-probably-should-be-executed-he-later-said-he/article_c335cdfe-1e5a-11ed-b987-37406c628204.html?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_TheBuffaloNews). > > Garland “should not only be impeached, he probably should be executed,” Paladino said in an interview with a Breitbart radio host last week, according to the outlet. > > “The guy is just lost. He’s a lost soul. He’s trying to get an image, and his methodology is just terrible,” he added. “To raid the home of a former president is just … people are scratching their heads and they’re saying, ‘What is wrong with this guy?’” > … Carl seems to think Garland is up to something. * * * * * * Rich Lowry also thinks Garland is ready to pounce on Donnie but only because he doesn’t have the balls to stand up to Joe Biden. > **[Garland gives in, moves toward the abyss - San Antonio Express, 8/18/2022](http://digital.olivesoftware.com/olive/odn/sanantonioexpressnews/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=SAEN%2F2022%2F08%2F18&entity=Ar01101&sk=1DAB1B92&mode=text)** > > San Antonio Express - 8/18/2022 > … > The Jan. 6 committee, elected Democrats and the media have been braying for Garland to move against Trump. President Joe Biden himself has reportedly told aides in private that Garland should indict Trump. “Garland Faces Growing Pressure as Jan. 6 Investigation Widens,” the New York Times reported earlier this year. > > It would take truly cussed independence and enormous moral and political courage not to take the path of least resistance and give in to these voices. Garland appears to be bending, presumably on his way to breaking. > … > > The fact of the matter is that while Trump’s moral blameworthiness for Jan. 6 is not in doubt, his legal culpability is. It’s easy to write an opinion column or say on cable TV that Trump incited an insurrection. As a legal matter, though, Trump didn’t come close to crossing the line to incitement, which has very specific and high standards under law. > … So… Rich concedes that trump’s big mouth makes him morally culpable for Jan 6, but he is not legally liable. And if Garland nails trump in spite of this, it will be because of pressure from Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/232 "2022-08-18T17:30:07Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Complete headline: **House GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Said Merrick Garland ‘Probably Should Be Executed’** I hope the FBI has a nice looonnnngggg talk with this asshole. They should also toss his house and take any weapons too. Yes it will enrage the MAGAt’s even more, but fuck 'em. They can’t be reached. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/233 "2022-08-18T18:54:53Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I hope the FBI has a nice looonnnngggg talk with this asshole. Apparently, a few minutes later in the interview, he said he was being facetious, so, no harm/no foul? I’m assuming there was a commercial break and one of his aides explained to him that that was a bad thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/234 "2022-08-18T18:59:46Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > I’m assuming there was a commercial break and one of his aides explained to him that that was a **bad thing to say.** Read: “indictable offense well outside any protection under the First Amendment.” ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/235 "2022-08-18T19:03:04Z")
Suggesting that anyone should be executed is a no no. The top official of the DOJ? Doing it on the radio? Um, dude, what where you thinking. Oh, right, you can’t think. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/236 "2022-08-18T19:32:01Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Um, dude, what where you thinking. They think everyone listening agrees. They don’t think that, if one public figure _they_ don’t like can be executed, the same thing can happen to them. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/237 "2022-08-18T20:01:59Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Complete headline: **House GOP Candidate Carl Paladino Said Merrick Garland ‘Probably Should Be Executed’** Horse porn guy said something inappropriate? No way! ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/238 "2022-08-18T21:33:44Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Um, dude, what where you thinking. Back in the days of three channels, my did used to watch news religiously and scream at the television. His favorite scream was “they should be lined up against a wall and shot.” It became background noise. It was only after I’d moved away and come back to visit that I felt the full impact of it. I asked him not to do that in front of my kids and he sort of stormed off. My mom took me to task for hurting his feelings. I tried to explain, including that she was just used too used to it to fully hear it. She thought for a bit, then said, “well, you wouldn’t want him not to care.” I had no words. Some people have been saying these things for so long that it just feels normal to them. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/239 "2022-08-18T22:05:19Z")
Carl said he was being facetious. Close Carl, but the word your looking for is fascist. Not that this maroon would know what either word means. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/240 "2022-08-18T23:56:54Z")
New Randy Rainbow video! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/MdSZRkeQfnk/maxresdefault.jpg "Lock Him Up Yesterday! - A Randy Rainbow Song Parody") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSZRkeQfnk) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190.md?page=13)