signalmankenneth
Verified User
If DOJ Garland does not prosecute Trump, and Trump runs again and wins, Garland will be responsible followed by Manchin and Sinema?!!
The evidence is clear. It’s time to prosecute the former president, and Merrick Garland shouldn’t wait.
It is a sacred tenet of democracy that the judicial and prosecutorial processes must be independent of political pressure. These decisions must be made as objectively as possible.
So let me state up front: I hope no one at the Department of Justice makes any decisions based on this article. But likewise, they shouldn’t make any based on threats from Republicans or pressure from centrist politicians to “look forward and not backward” to avoid political violence, conservative backlash, or whatnot. The DOJ should let law and facts lead where they lead.
If the facts warrant prosecuting Donald Trump and anyone in his circle, they should be charged. Prosecuting them would not be political. Failure to prosecute them would be.
Unfortunately, Republican elected officials are lobbing heavy threats at both the DOJ and Democrats, insisting that prosecuting Trump over January 6 (or anything else) would be seen as a political act—and that they would seek revenge. Their anger is particularly directed toward the House January 6 committee, which concluded that there is adequate evidence to implicate Trump and several of his allies in serious crimes.
The House committee and DOJ officials should studiously ignore these threats for several reasons.
First and foremost, democracy cannot thrive if crimes go unpunished because their prosecution would be interpreted as political, especially by the allies of those held accountable. The result of this practice would be devastating escalation: Elected officials would commit bigger and bolder crimes to win and hold power, knowing that their opponents cannot do anything about it whether they succeed or fail.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022/03/23/refusing-to-prosecute-trump-is-a-political-act/
The evidence is clear. It’s time to prosecute the former president, and Merrick Garland shouldn’t wait.
It is a sacred tenet of democracy that the judicial and prosecutorial processes must be independent of political pressure. These decisions must be made as objectively as possible.
So let me state up front: I hope no one at the Department of Justice makes any decisions based on this article. But likewise, they shouldn’t make any based on threats from Republicans or pressure from centrist politicians to “look forward and not backward” to avoid political violence, conservative backlash, or whatnot. The DOJ should let law and facts lead where they lead.
If the facts warrant prosecuting Donald Trump and anyone in his circle, they should be charged. Prosecuting them would not be political. Failure to prosecute them would be.
Unfortunately, Republican elected officials are lobbing heavy threats at both the DOJ and Democrats, insisting that prosecuting Trump over January 6 (or anything else) would be seen as a political act—and that they would seek revenge. Their anger is particularly directed toward the House January 6 committee, which concluded that there is adequate evidence to implicate Trump and several of his allies in serious crimes.
The House committee and DOJ officials should studiously ignore these threats for several reasons.
First and foremost, democracy cannot thrive if crimes go unpunished because their prosecution would be interpreted as political, especially by the allies of those held accountable. The result of this practice would be devastating escalation: Elected officials would commit bigger and bolder crimes to win and hold power, knowing that their opponents cannot do anything about it whether they succeed or fail.
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2022/03/23/refusing-to-prosecute-trump-is-a-political-act/
