# F Merrick Garland. (He won't be going after anyone)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190
**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:** 39
### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/761 "2024-11-08T18:43:25Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#):
>
> The one case his Department brought ( **only because the archives forced their hand** ) has been preemptively dropped.
I added the bolding. That is what should be noted here. Garland was doing nothing.
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/762 "2024-11-08T19:03:48Z")
Perhaps he means the one where Trump is [suing](https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/12/politics/trump-mar-a-lago-search-claim/index.html) the Justice Department for $100 million for the “illegal” search of his home.
The one that Trump can [order them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vfiCcgW2F4) to admit liability and settle once he takes power, thus proving that it was a witch hunt after all.
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### Author:  [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/763 "2024-11-08T19:08:36Z")
Didn’t we have a whole thread about Garland and the Justice Department?
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### Author:  [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/764 "2024-11-08T19:48:58Z")
In the Pit, this one is it (as far as I know).
But, yeah. The ONE thing that could have changed the Nov 5 outcome, I believe, was indicting Trump for both the federal cases in 2022 and proceeding with all appropriate speed. He’d have been convicted by the end of 2023 and the GOP would likely have run someone else. And the ‘someone else’ wouldn’t have been as strong—no other Republican offers the plausible excuses for supporting him that Trump does (chiefly the vaunted “he’s a great businessman and that’s what the US needs”).
Add in ‘_Biden realizing his low favorability means he can’t win in 2024, and thus stepping aside by late 2023_’, meaning a full Democratic primary, and we’d have had a chance to buck the global “anti-incumbency” trend.
> **[Donald Trump's big election win is part of a major global trend](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-election-win-global-trend-1982174)**
>
> Donald Trump's win is part of a larger global trend of not supporting the incumbent party in elections this year.
Garland’s timidity will go down in history as being a root cause of the upcoming dark ages.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/765 "2024-11-08T20:29:38Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#):
>
> Garland’s timidity will go down in history as being a root cause of the upcoming dark ages.
But he brought us peace in our time!
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/766 "2024-11-08T21:51:03Z")
A big part of the blame goes to Cannon though.
I don’t think proving election interference and Trump’s role in Jan 6th would be quite as easy as some people here are making out. So if Garland rushed that to trial he may or may not have gotten a conviction. The documents case on the other hand was a slam dunk with Tump caught with the goods red handed. With any other judge he would have been convicted months ago and sentenced by now. Instead he got a judge would entertain his defense motions no matter how inane and delay indefinitely.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/767 "2024-11-08T21:52:43Z")
> [@enipla](#):
>
> And now Trump might put Cannon in a AG. What a mess. She should be removed from his espionage case immediately.
How is this not considered bribing the judge?
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### Author:  [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/768 "2024-11-08T21:54:45Z")
> [@Monty](#):
>
> How is this not considered bribing the judge?
Trump has an R next to his name.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/769 "2024-11-08T21:55:10Z")
> [@Monty](#):
>
> How is this not considered bribing the judge?
Because SCOTUS already ruled that it’s not bribery to reward someone after the fact. That sounds like insane bullshit but that’s what we get from the corrupt clowns in black robes.
> **[US Supreme Court Holds That Federal Bribery Law Does Not Criminalize...](https://www.skadden.com/insights/publications/2024/07/us-supreme-court-holds-that-federal-bribery-law-does-not-criminalize-gratuities)**
>
> The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Snyder v. United States has the potential to impact other statutes dealing with bribes and payments to government officials, such as the FCPA.
> On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the main federal anti-corruption statute proscribing bribes to state and local officials does not criminalize gratuities, which the Court described as “payments made to an official after an official act as a token of appreciation.”
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/770 "2024-11-08T21:59:00Z")
Yes, and…
Nominating an AG is an official act so he can’t be convicted or investigated for it. He could be impeached but that’s not going to happen unless Dems take the house and 2/3 of the senate.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/771 "2024-11-08T22:01:39Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#):
>
> He could be impeached but that’s not going to happen unless Dems take the house and 2/3 of the senate.
We can dream about that in a couple of years but I can’t even dare to hope for it.
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/772 "2024-11-08T22:26:16Z")
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> On June 26, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the main federal anti-corruption statute proscribing bribes to state and local officials does not criminalize gratuities
It’s fucking ridiculous. I as a COUNTY employee can’t recommend a surveyor for a problem with a property.
My Wife that also works for the county can’t recommend an appraiser.
But this is gonna be considered a gratuity. We all know this is bullshit, but there isn’t anything we can do about it.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/773 "2024-11-08T22:31:02Z")
> [@enipla](#):
>
> It’s fucking ridiculous. I as a COUNTY employee can’t recommend a surveyor for a problem with a property.
Yup. I work for state government and it would be really illegal for me to accept tips for what I do, or any other after-the-fact consideration. But considering how much the conservative judges get wined and dined, would anyone expect them to understand how wrong that is?
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/774 "2024-11-08T22:45:25Z")
I understand that that recommending this contractor or that, is not good. That’s fine.
When your job is in government. Your primary duty is to help people. I love that and we work very, very hard to do that.
That is our job. That’s all we do.
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### Author:  [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)
#### Post date: [November 8, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/775 "2024-11-08T22:47:25Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#):
>
> A big part of the blame goes to Cannon though.
Where does it say you cannot file cases (for another box of documents) until you hit a sane judge. He’s running the DoJ, he’s got the mostest lawyers.
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### Author:  [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/776 "2024-11-09T22:26:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#):
>
> But he brought us peace in our time!
He really _does_ deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as ol’ Neville, doesn’t he?
> [@Buck\_Godot](#):
>
> A big part of the blame goes to Cannon though.
Yes, but it’s fair to wonder if she’d have been quite as blatantly pro-Trump if that trial had been taking place in late 2022 or early 2023. There would have been no talk of ‘this is election interference’ to provide her with plausible cover for her bias. The mood of the nation was different.
> [@](#):
>
> … In May 2021, NARA became aware of missing documents from the Trump Administration, and began an effort to retrieve documents improperly taken to Trump’s residences at Mar-a-Lago and The Bedminster Club …
> …After repeatedly demanding the return of documents from Trump’s team and warning them of a possible referral to the Justice Department, NARA retrieved 15 boxes of documents in January 2022.[1] NARA discovered that the boxes contained classified material, and notified the Justice Department on February 9, 2022. …
Maybe some elements of the way this all developed would have had to be sped up in order to indict Trump in 2022 and proceed to trial—but with an AG who was less deferential, it might have happened.
I still say Garland has a lot to answer for.
> **[Federal prosecution of Donald Trump (classified documents case)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_prosecution_of_Donald_Trump_(classified_documents_case))**
>
> United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, Waltine Nauta, and Carlos De Oliveira is a federal criminal case against Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, Walt Nauta, his personal aide and valet, and Mar-a-Lago maintenance chief Carlos De Oliveira. The grand jury indictment brought 40 felony counts against Trump related to his alleged mishandling of classified documents after his presidency, to which he pleaded not guilty. The case marks the first federal indictment of On Ju...
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### Author:  [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2024, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/777 "2024-11-10T02:44:27Z")
> [@enipla](#):
>
> And now Trump might put Cannon in a AG. What a mess. She should be removed from his espionage case immediately.
Who would give up a life-tenure judgeship to be in Trump’s cabinet? Cannon might be that stupid (all signs point to ‘yes’), but a smart move.
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### Author:  [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)
#### Post date: [November 10, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/778 "2024-11-10T13:27:27Z")
> [@Folacin](#):
>
> Who would give up a life-tenure judgeship to be in Trump’s cabinet? Cannon might be that stupid (all signs point to ‘yes’), but a smart move.
She would be eyeing a spot in the SCOTUS. God help us all.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/779 "2025-01-07T14:48:38Z")
[A number of sources](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/12/28/bidens-lonely-battle-to-sell-american-democracy/) say Biden admin members think Garland is responsible for delays in prosecuting Trump that allowed the clock to run out. Some say Biden considers it a mistake as well. There’s no doubt about it, appointing Garland was one of several big mistakes Biden made, and Garland himself is responsible for a major failure to do his job and serve the people and the system of justice.
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### Author:  [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2025, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/f-merrick-garland-he-wont-be-going-after-anyone/968190/780 "2025-01-07T18:32:23Z")
That was obvious in 2021.
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