Wonder why it took so long to bring the charges. DOJ could have done it much earlier without such an impact on the upcoming election.
It is almost as if they wanted to impact the election. Now why would they do that, Bob.
Of course. Garland and Smith and Wray……..and all their managers and staff……..are all in on a vast conspiracy to get trump. They all agreed to wait until now to file the charges. Yet there’s been no leaks, no information of any kind to suggest another one of your conspiracies.
Once again, you clearly haven’t thought through your argument.
If Garland had filed the charges a year ago, we would be in the middle of trial or it would be over. If trump was found guilty, that would have more effect on the upcoming election, don’t you agree? If there was a trial going on during the campaign, that might be a negative.
As it is, this won’t even go to trial before the election. And everyone agrees that, so far, indictments against trump have resulted in higher poll numbers for him, at least among republicans. Just ask him.
The facts are much different.
A Washington Post investigation found that more than a year would pass before prosecutors and FBI agents jointly embarked on a formal probe of actions directed from the White House to try to steal the election. Even then, the FBI stopped short of identifying the former president as a focus of that investigation.
A wariness about appearing partisan, institutional caution, and clashes over how much evidence was sufficient to investigate the actions of Trump and those around him all contributed to the slow pace. Garland and the deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, charted a cautious course aimed at restoring public trust in the department while some prosecutors below them chafed, feeling top officials were shying away from looking at evidence of potential crimes by Trump and those close to him.
Whether a decision about Trump’s culpability for Jan. 6 could have come any earlier is unclear. The delays in examining that question began before Garland was even confirmed. Sherwin, senior Justice Department officials and Paul Abbate, the top deputy to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, quashed a plan by prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office to directly investigate Trump associates for any links to the riot, deeming it premature, according to five individuals familiar with the decision. Instead, they insisted on a methodical approach — focusing first on rioters and going up the ladder.
The strategy was embraced by Garland, Monaco and Wray. They remained committed to it even as evidence emerged of an organized, weeks-long effort by Trump and his advisers before Jan. 6 to pressure state leaders, Justice officials and Vice President Mike Pence to block the certification of Biden’s victory.
The reality is that the DOJ leadership showed little interest in pursuing charges against trump for his actions after the election. The 1/6 committee findings helped push them into action.
If you can’t access the Post article here’s one that summarizes it.
The Justice Department opted to go after Capitol rioters in a “bottom-up” strategy.
www.vanityfair.com
