Merrick Garland is amazing.
When history and the law called for action, the attorney general of the United States was frustrated. Worse still, Garland has given up on the oath of office he took when he was appointed America’s top law enforcement officer earlier last year.
Garland raised his right hand and vowed to “support and defend” the US constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. He agreed, moreover, “to assume this position voluntarily without any mental reserve or evasive intent”.
Garland did not keep his word. In fact, he has shirked his “duty” to protect the constitution even after openly breaking the law with a former president who has turned into an “enemy” of the original document he swore to follow.
Instead of fulfilling his mission, Garland made an unforgivable — some say “scary” — choice. He asked someone else to do the job for him since, it seems, Garland has a lot of other things to do, besides opposing the 45th President, Donald Trump.
By naming Jack Smith – the former head of the Department of Justice’s division of justice and a former military attorney – special counsel to lead the investigation of Mr. Trump, Garland has abandoned the commitment he promised on his first day as attorney general to thousands of the Department of Justice. workers and, by extension, millions of Americans have been enlightened.
There cannot be, he said, “one law for friends, and another for enemies, one law for the powerful, and another for the weak, one law for the rich, and another for the poor.” . . [T]Together, we will show the American people through words and actions that the Justice Department is committed to equal justice and the rule of law. “
It appears, unsurprisingly, that with his works Garland has proven, however, that there is one law for the rich and powerful and another for the poor and powerless. And he has proven that “equal justice” is a stupid anachronism that is brought out, in a sense, in the happy speeches of a lawyer general who is more interested in appearance than in applying the law without fear or prejudice.
You and I know that if a poor and powerless American citizen had been aiding and abetting a coup or had been found to have classified documents at home, the damning hammer of the Justice Department would have come down fast and hard.
Garland acknowledged this double standard when he argued in his speech announcing Smith’s appointment that “in some extraordinary cases, it is in the public interest to appoint a special prosecutor to personally oversee the investigation and prosecution”.
Ironically, Garland said that, as the attorney general of President Joe Biden, he could not be considered “independent” of the law – to devote himself to all the good talk of “equal justice” not useless but hypocritical. .
If Garland’s intention was to bluntly criticize the research done by the “old man” as political, he’s either been in a coma since 2016, or he’s delusional.
If they believe that by establishing a “special counsel”, Mr. Trump and his group of supporters inside and outside of Congress will avoid complaining about the “deep” evil, this shows that Garland’s decision is too difficult to be possible. Then-Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did the country a favor by blocking his nomination to the Supreme Court in 2016.
Meanwhile, when Smith leaves The Hague for Washington, he is well armed with his weapons. Trump, his congressional allies and Fox News tyrants have now trained special counsel in a sustained, concerted effort to discredit him and his work.
We and him should not complain and leave them to cry in their official room, which is different from the real one.
Garland concluded his apology, bluntly by assuring the American public that “based on the work to date and Mr. Smith’s experience in the courts, I am confident that this appointment will not undermine the completion of this investigation.”
I’ve seen strong pedestrians trying to navigate icy roads faster than Garland and his reluctant Justice Department.
Reportedly, the President has privately expressed his frustration with Garland’s dismissal of Trump, whose support for the deadly attack on January 6, 2021, constitutes, Mr. Biden insists, “a storm in the neck of the American people and American democracy”.
In April, the New York Times revealed that Mr. Biden “wants Garland to act less like a tyrannical judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take action”.
Now, in self-restraint, the attorney general has rewarded Mr. Trump with his willingness to declare his candidacy early by giving him what they both crave and want: time.
Trump will use the extra months that Garland has given him to promote the absurd, but persuasive political, thinking that he is the victim of the electorate and the electorate who are left, as always, determined to prevent him from “making America great again”, part. two.
Smith’s research is expected to continue into the new year and emerge in a presidential race that will continue to intensify — with or without Biden at the head of the Democratic ticket.
However, Smith is portrayed in the media as a prosecutor, experienced and successful. This, I think, should be encouraging to those of us who want to see Trump in the dock. Although Teflon seems, at long last, to have moved on from the Teflon Don, he has shown an amazing ability to have the character he deserves most of the time.
Despite my extreme caution and persistent skepticism, I believe the needle has shifted and Trump will be impeached — with Garland’s approval.
But, if and when that glorious day comes, it will be regardless of the judge’s anger and indiscretion. They don’t deserve to be rewarded and praised or celebrated for doing what they call “the right thing”. Garland didn’t get it.
Biden is right. Trump is unfit to be president again and represents a threat to the already frayed fabric of American democracy.
It is time for President Trump to be demoted to Trump Prisoner. It’s now or never, America.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect Al Jazeera’s influence.
