# 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:** 28
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/541 "2023-06-20T00:26:49Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > …I’m glad Garland eventually decided to put a real bulldog on the case, and we’re seeing results. That should have happened earlier in my opinion. I agree. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Saying Garland needs to be fired is just plain stupid, though, unless you’re a Trump supporter. (Well, no, it would still be stupid, just for different reasons.) Well, I haven’t said Garland should be fired. The question is muddled by the fact that–of course–the GOP wants the heads of ANYONE who has ever criticized Trump, let alone inconvenienced him. How I wish that McConnell had fallen into some other dimension after Scalia died, so that Garland could have become a SCOTUS Justice. His best qualities would have served him well there, and his (in my view) propensity for motivated reasoning, used to fit his timorous nature, would likely have done less harm. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/542 "2023-06-20T00:27:18Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Well, I haven’t said Garland should be fired. The question is muddled by the fact that–of course–the GOP wants the heads of ANYONE who has ever criticized Trump, let alone inconvenienced him. Nope, but the person I was replying to when you quoted me did. Or said he should resign, same difference. (In politics, I suspect many if not most “resignations” are firings.) ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/543 "2023-06-20T00:29:00Z")
Fair enough. (I’ll admit I wouldn’t mourn unduly should Garland decide to resign, though. But that’s unlikely, and probably too disruptive to the project of holding the insurrection-conspirators to account.) ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/544 "2023-06-20T13:52:39Z")
Judge Cannon has ordered the trial to start in two months! According to the article, the defense will ordinarily want much more time. This may have been to help Trump with his campaign in that it could be over before before the primaries. > **[Judge Cannon Just Set an Incredible Trump Trial Date](https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-cannon-just-set-incredible-124741081.html)** > > The Trump appointee appears to have set the former president’s historic case on warp speed. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/545 "2023-06-20T19:52:52Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > When we talked about the morons with their heads in the sand who have an irrational hate for Garland and deserve to eat crow when the indictments come out, you’re one of the people I had in mind. My day is ruined. I mean, there are clearly people with their heads in the sand… I don’t hate Garland. I just think he’s clearly unqualified for the job. He lets the fear of appearing biased prevent him from doing his job to protect our country. That he was eventually shamed into investigating Trump doesn’t absolve him if his cowardice. > [@Atamasama](#): > > That should have happened earlier in my opinion. That’s kind of the fucking point. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/546 "2023-06-20T20:12:33Z")
How do you know all this? IANAL, but AFAICT the known facts are also consistent with a cautious and methodical (but still determined, patriotic, and well-meaning) prosecutorial approach. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/547 "2023-06-20T21:16:47Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > IANAL, but AFAICT the known facts are also consistent with a cautious and methodical (but still determined, patriotic, and well-meaning) prosecutorial approach. Washington Post claims DOJ delayed the probe into Jan. 6th for over a year. They also say it took media and public pressure before DOJ would look at the fake electors conspiracy. If they are correct how would that be consistent with any prosecutorial approach? Do you think there wasn’t evidence to support those investigations? Or was Garland for whatever reason not getting the job done? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/548 "2023-06-20T21:34:38Z")
That’s not my understanding of the article – my understanding is that the investigation started promptly, but the DOJ started at the bottom and worked their way up. That’s very different than delaying for a year. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/549 "2023-06-20T21:38:56Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > That’s very different than delaying for a year. Precisely. They didn’t delay for a year, that’s just a lie. They started the investigation immediately. There were hundreds of suspects to go through. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/550 "2023-06-20T22:00:09Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > That’s not my understanding of the article – my understanding is that the investigation started promptly, but the DOJ started at the bottom and worked their way up. That’s very different than delaying for a year. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Precisely. They didn’t delay for a year, that’s just a lie. They started the investigation immediately. There were hundreds of suspects to go through. [From NPR interview of Carol Leonnig, Washington Post journalist](https://www.npr.org/2023/06/19/1183098037/washington-post-journalist-on-fbis-delayed-investigation-of-trumps-role-in-jan-6) > [@](#): > > LEONNIG: You know, what we learned was that inside the senior leadership of the Department of Justice, there was a lot of angst about restoring trust and faith in the Department of Justice - wanting so desperately for the public to view this entity as apolitical. And this department really - under Merrick Garland, really wanted to send a message, hey, politics is not what we’re doing. The problems, however, was there was a lot of evidence that Donald Trump and at least many of his allies were possibly engaged in a crime - that efforts to pressure the vice president and efforts to basically pressure state officials to declare fraud in their state when there was none. All of those things had a potential criminal statute that could be charged, and the department just simply did not want to look in that direction, according to multiple sources that we spoke with. Read the rest of the interview and learn something. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/551 "2023-06-20T22:14:03Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Judge Cannon has ordered the trial to start in two months! According to the article, the defense will ordinarily want much more time. This may have been to help Trump with his campaign in that it could be over before before the primaries. In another thread, others said there is a 70-day goal for starting a trial (after indictment). While it’s very unlikely to actually start that soon (for good, typical reasons, not just nefarious delay attempts by Trump’s team), Cannon appears to be trying to at least show respect for the goal of a relatively speedy process — a good thing, (Someone speculated that we won’t really know her degree of impartiality until she starts ruling on pre-trial and during-trial things like admissibility of certain evidence — but so far, she’s done okay.) ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/552 "2023-06-20T22:29:09Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Read the rest of the interview and learn something. Nothing there contradicts anything you said or backs up the lie that they waited to pursue investigating 1/6 crimes. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/553 "2023-06-20T22:30:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Read the rest of the interview and learn something. I read it and didn’t learn anything new. Pretty lightweight interview. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/554 "2023-06-20T22:33:22Z")
Merrick Garland’s feelings may be interesting, but that’s a lot different than “delayed a year”. And go fuck yourself with your “learn something” condescending bullshit. Seriously, fuck yourself. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/555 "2023-06-20T22:37:13Z")
If you want to gripe that Garland prioritized going after the small players before moving on to the people at the top, I’m with you. Maybe it’s a good strategy, prosecute the low-hanging fruit and then move on to the harder stuff, but I’m skeptical. And if it was also influenced by the fear of political blowback, I don’t like that and I’ve called out a few people here on the board who have advocated that viewpoint (that we have to be careful not to make MAGA angry). But the DOJ didn’t sit on their hands and do nothing. That’s bullshit, the same wrong bullshit that people were spewing before in this thread, that Garland and the DOJ will never do anything about Trump. Those people have been duly humiliated by how wrong they were. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/556 "2023-06-20T23:23:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > All of those things had a potential criminal statute that could be charged, and the department just simply did not want to look in that direction, according to multiple sources that we spoke with. How much more has to be said? There was evidence of crimes and Garland refused to investigate. We don’t need the Attorney General to prosecute rioting idiots. We needed an investigation of the people who engaged in a broad conspiracy to overthrow the government and there was evidence everywhere anybody looked, but Garland didn’t look. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/557 "2023-06-20T23:29:10Z")
“Sources say Garland didn’t want to look into that” is not the same thing as “Garland didn’t look into that”. Especially when Garland appointed someone to look into that (and other things), and so far that appointee has brought strong charges. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/558 "2023-06-20T23:57:30Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > the same wrong bullshit that people were spewing before in this thread, that Garland and the DOJ will never do anything about Trump. Those people have been duly humiliated by how wrong they were. Remember that the complaints that Garland and the DOJ will never do anything were made before classified documents were a thing. Those complaints have not been proven wrong as of yet since none of the crimes people were talking about at the time have been charged. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/559 "2023-06-21T00:11:24Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Remember that the complaints that Garland and the DOJ will never do anything were made before classified documents were a thing. That’s completely irrelevant. The claim was that Garland was _never_ going to go after Trump because he was afraid of the political fallout, not when an election was pending. The claim wasn’t that Garland wasn’t going to pursue **specific** charges for **specific** crimes. It was that he wasn’t going to do _anything_. Well, Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination, and he has been indicted on dozens of serious charges by Garland’s DOJ, and in the midst of his attempt to get that nomination he will also be trying to defend himself in court while potentially being in prison for whatever bit of life he has left on this planet. So, yeah, they were extremely wrong. Some folks have said okay, I was wrong, and my hat’s off to them. Others have doubled down and look like clowns. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/560 "2023-06-21T00:33:52Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > The claim wasn’t that Garland wasn’t going to pursue **specific** charges for **specific** crimes. It was that he wasn’t going to do _anything_. This is quite a leap of logic. Smells like bullshit to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190.md?page=27) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190.md?page=29)