# 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:** 21
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2022, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/401 "2022-11-26T00:37:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > It’s like putting a million piece puzzle together. It doesn’t take a long time because you’re being slow. It takes a long time because there’s so much to do. The Jan 6 committee didn’t need 2 years. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Why would the DOJ employ a “tactic to delay”? Because Garland is very reluctant to prosecute. No conspiracy needed. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2022, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/402 "2022-11-26T00:38:58Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And if Trump, Meadows, Brooks, and others had faced legal consequences months ago, I suspect that many GOP officials would be less free with their ‘winning is all that matters’ advice. If we’re talking about months, would you consider indictment alone sufficient legal deterrent? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/403 "2022-11-27T01:05:48Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > If we’re talking about months, would you consider indictment alone sufficient legal deterrent? Of course it’s a purely hypothetical question. We would need access to parallel universes, constructed specifically to isolate the relevant factors, in order to know the answer with even the slightest degree of confidence. But on the whole: yes. I think that if Trump had been indicted for his 2020-election-related conduct back in (say) January of 2022, then a lot of what we saw GOP figures saying and doing in the lead-up to the November 2022 election would have been different. And that effect would have been even more pronounced had people like Mark Meadows, Mo Brooks, and Ron Johnson been indicted, too. Of course it’s all guesswork. ---
**Author:** ![Ziberian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/919ad9/32.png) [@Ziberian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ziberian)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2022, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/404 "2022-12-09T21:53:43Z")
The pessimism may be spreading. > **[If Merrick Garland Had the Courage of His Convictions…](https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/merrick-garland-trump-prosecution/)** > > Donald Trump would already be on his way to prison. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/405 "2022-12-09T23:26:12Z")
It’s _The Nation_. So what? It spread to one opinion writer? ---
**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:** [December 10, 2022, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/406 "2022-12-10T02:00:40Z")
Devin Stone aka the LegalEagle just dropped a new video which explains what the appointment of Jack Smith as Special Counsel means, and why it likely indicates charges are coming at some point. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bB27GaFCWGo/maxresdefault.jpg "The New Special Counsel Is Bad News For Trump") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB27GaFCWGo) ---
**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:** [December 10, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/407 "2022-12-10T02:06:08Z")
Does he have an estimate of when “at some point” might be? I didn’t watch the video. I’m phoning this in. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2022, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/408 "2022-12-10T02:37:10Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Does he have an estimate of when “at some point” might be? No, and Devin certainly had some mild criticism about the pace of the investigation. It’s clear that he doesn’t think that all of this is absolutely necessary; as he says, Trump is just a regular citizen right now and there is literally nothing legally stopping the DOJ from treating him the same as they would anyone else who took the same actions. But he also understands the political reasons why it was done this way (though he points out that there are Republicans still whining anyway). He states that the [regulations around the appointing of a Special Counsel](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/28/600.1) do fit this situation, so it seems appropriate to do so. As for his prediction, he says: > While trying to figure out what’s going to happen next is reading tea leaves, it probably doesn’t mean that _nothing_ is going to happen. In other words, Garland probably would not have appointed a special counsel if he had determined that no prosecution was warranted. And I think that Smith’s experience shows that he prosecutes hard cases. Often the DOJ will only take a case if they think that they are sure to win, but it looks like Smith’s record doesn’t follow that adage. I found the bit of the video explaining Smith’s background and experience to be interesting. He certainly seems fearless about who he goes after. If you want to skip to that part, [this](https://youtu.be/bB27GaFCWGo?t=726) is where he begins that discussion and it only takes a couple of minutes. (Stone talks pretty quickly, though also clearly, that’s one reason why I love his videos.) He also points out that this case is a **lot** simpler and more straightforward than the cases that Smith usually takes on, which involve things like corruption and bribery, and are as much political as they are legal. The law is a lot clearer in this case. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/409 "2022-12-23T20:08:07Z")
> [@FBI Search and Seizure at Trump's Mar-A-Lago Residence (August 8, 2022)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fbi-search-and-seizure-at-trumps-mar-a-lago-residence-august-8-2022/969329/3898): > > I don’t think Garland will wait long past the Georgia race. I expect he’ll indict sometime in December. Obviously I have no inside track, but I can understand why he’s waiting for now. > [@Jan 6 Hearings Follow-Along & Commentary Thread (Starts Jun 9, 2022)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jan-6-hearings-follow-along-commentary-thread-starts-jun-9-2022/965940/2574): > > My only question is whether they’re going to give Trump and others one last holiday with the family. (I hope not, but probably.) Can we get some new Garland apologist pricks in here to type condescending bullshit? These ones are bleeding. @Aspenglow imitation is the highest form of flattery. Who is infamous for promising stuff “in two weeks”. Are you _sure_ you want him locked up? ---
**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:** [December 23, 2022, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/410 "2022-12-23T21:05:59Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Can we get some new Garland apologist pricks in here to type condescending bullshit? As long as we’re being insulting here, why don’t you fuck off with your conspiracy theory bullshit and blatant, mindless hatred for Garland. Use something spiky and awkward-shaped. Of course you’ll probably need to pull your head out first to make some room. Keep bleating on about how “nothing will be done” amidst the flurry of shit being done. This thread is aging as badly as the “it wasn’t a coup” thread. ---
**Author:** ![GWF\_Hefel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@GWF\_Hefel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWF_Hefel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/411 "2022-12-23T21:17:04Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > Can we get some new Garland apologist pricks in here to type condescending bullshit? At last, some Christmas cheer. Don’t pick on Aspenglow too much, she’s just a genuflecting devotee of her supsriors. Without people like that, society itself might change. Might change for the better. I’m waiting for someone to suggest a Trump Pardon to end our long National Nightmare. Season’s Greetings. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2022, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/412 "2022-12-23T21:31:17Z")
> [@GWF\_Hefel](#): > > Don’t pick on Aspenglow too much, she’s just a genuflecting devotee of her supsriors. Without people like that, society itself might change. Might change for the better. WHOA! What the fuck? \<_Scratches head…_\> And while we’re on the subject, what are “_supsriors_”? Do I have them? Do you? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/413 "2022-12-23T21:36:00Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > And while we’re on the subject, what are “_supsriors_”? Do I have them? Do you? I assume it is a portmanteau for super scissors. They are all the rage with kids today. [![](https://www.baltimoresbest.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Scissors-Ceremonial-Ribbon-Cutting-300x241.jpg) ](https://www.baltimoresbest.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Scissors-Ceremonial-Ribbon-Cutting-300x241.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/414 "2022-12-23T21:37:55Z")
We’re two years in now. The only thing those guys are doing is hoping he kicks the bucket already. US law enforcement is happy to arrest the rabble, they lack the will to go after their (former) masters. They simply feel it is not their job. (might even agree with them, let the voters and other politicians sort out the people they put in charge) You can call simple observation > [@Atamasama](#): > > blatant, mindless hatred for Garland and some speculation about the motivations of career officials > [@Atamasama](#): > > conspiracy theory bullshit Fact is that there is absolutely no conspiracy anywhere in any of my posts. So go ahead, explain why > [@Atamasama](#): > > amidst the flurry of shit being done Nothing of any consequence is being done. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/415 "2022-12-23T21:45:39Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > We’re two years in now. This thread is 5 months old. You can’t even get that right you fucking moron. At least you’re entertaining! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2022, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/416 "2022-12-23T21:47:28Z")
Yes, the age of the thread is obviously what I’m referencing there. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/417 "2022-12-24T01:14:16Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > … You can call simple observation > > > [@Atamasama](#): > > > > blatant, mindless hatred for Garland > > and some speculation about the motivations of career officials > > > [@Atamasama](#): > > > > conspiracy theory bullshit > > Fact is that there is absolutely no conspiracy anywhere in any of my posts. … True. The vitriol-overkill of many Garland apologists in this thread is a strong indicator that they cannot rely on factual arguments; they must resort to making stuff up. It’s possible that Garland’s DOJ will ultimately indict Republican office-holders or appointees, past or present, on charges relating to Trump’s attempted coup. It’s even possible that Garland’s DOJ will ultimately indict Trump himself. But, as you point out: it’s been two years. _More_ than that since some of Trump’s ‘stay in office’ plots were put into action. And the DOJ cannot be said to have done nothing. On the other hand, DOJ cannot be said to have held one single GOP Trump enabler accountable in a court of law. Okay, they made Jeffrey Clark stand outside in his underwear for a while. But, again: he hasn’t had to face a judge or jury. _ **None of them have.** _ Pointing out this undeniable fact may engender rage in some. And that’s a shame, for the rage-engulfed. That’s a rough way to live. But facts are facts. ---
**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:** [December 24, 2022, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/418 "2022-12-24T01:24:26Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > True. The vitriol-overkill of many Garland apologists in this thread is a strong indicator that they cannot rely on factual arguments; they must resort to making stuff up. The people making stuff up are the ones who say that literally _nothing_ has happened, which is an outrageous, ignorant lie worthy of election deniers. Can you criticize Garland for not indicting anyone yet? Sure! Can you gripe about how long it has taken? Absolutely! I’ve griped in this thread about it. Can you pretend that they haven’t done anything? Sure, and Covid was bio-engineered in a Ukrainian lab by Fauci on purpose to enrich the blood of children being harvested in the basement of a pizza parlor. Trump has faced significant legal problems, has gone to court, has had warrants served on him, has a special prosecutor going after him. Garland called him out directly. If that’s not enough for you, that’s understandable. But to say that Garland is scared to do anything is willful ignorance. And too many in this thread have insisted on that. The hyperbole that nothing is being done and nothing ever will be done is revisionist bullshit. And anyone who dares to push back on that is an “apologist”. Anyone who doesn’t agree with it is “enraged”. This pathetic propaganda is frankly sad. I know this is the Pit but for fucks’ sake, at least agree on fucking facts you dipshits. The facts don’t care about your feelings or opinions. It’s telling that you’re only going to find this revisionism in the Pit, because in the non-Pit threads as you see in P&E, where news is being discussed, it doesn’t really work. It’s much easier to play make-believe here. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/419 "2022-12-24T01:29:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The people making stuff up are t **he ones who say that literally _nothing_ has happened** , which is an outrageous, ignorant lie worthy of election deniers. … > > Can you pretend that **they haven’t done anything**? Straw man arguments truly _are_ the easiest to knock down. Not a particularly respectable enterprise, though, is it? > (My bolding in the quotations.) ---
**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:** [December 24, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/420 "2022-12-24T01:33:37Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Straw man arguments truly _are_ the easiest to knock down. Read the OP, ignoramus. Read the shifting goal posts throughout this entire thread. I mean, you griped in July about how there is no special counsel. > [@Sherrerd](#): > > Why not make the decision-maker for sensitive potential investigations a committee of career DOJ people, or a Special Counsel, or _anything_ other than a political appointee? You got your wish there. But still, no acknowledgement? No adjustment of any of your arguments? Same old song regardless of what happens. These aren’t straw men. You just have a short memory. The OP said that the DOJ will never go after anyone. And just today… > [@The\_Librarian](#): > > The only thing those guys are doing is hoping he kicks the bucket already. It’s not a straw man. It’s the current argument of people **right now** arguing that the DOJ isn’t doing anything. You’re carrying water for an hyperbolic idiot like Librarian by saying… > [@Sherrerd](#): > > It’s possible that Garland’s DOJ will ultimately indict Republican office-holders or appointees, past or present, on charges relating to Trump’s attempted coup. It’s even possible that Garland’s DOJ will ultimately indict Trump himself. And pretending that’s what Librarian is saying. But you’re saying completely different things here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190.md?page=20) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190.md?page=22)