Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) on Sunday issued an ultimatum to Attorney General Merrick Garland. ‘Step it up or step out’: Dem lawmaker gives Merrick Garland ultimatum on prosecuting Trump officials:
While appearing on CNN, Gallego demanded that the attorney general do more to prosecute Trump officials who tried to pressure Vice President Mike Pence and election officials across the country to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Look, either Merrick Garland steps it up or needs to step out,” he said. “The attorney general of the United States, the most important thing is to protect the Constitution of the United States. He’s failing now because he wants to stick to some norms. There is no norms when there’s an almost-coup of this country!”
Politico reported, ‘Almost schizophrenic’: Judge rips DOJ approach to Jan. 6 prosecutions:
A federal judge thrashed the Justice Department on Thursday for offering “petty offense” plea deals to Jan. 6 defendants who she said tarnished America’s reputation in the world and enabled violent rioters to threaten the peaceful transfer of power — even if they committed no violence themselves.
Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the federal District Court in Washington, D.C., said prosecutors appeared “almost schizophrenic” in describing the insurrection in extreme terms but then settling for second-tier misdemeanor plea agreements with dozens of defendants.
“This is a muddled approach by the government,” said Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama. “I’m trying to make sense of the government’s position here.”
Howell then made clear that she considered all participants in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach — which the Justice Department now estimates at 2,000 to 2,500 people — enablers of an assault against the republic.
“The damage to the reputation of our democracy, which is usually held up around the world … that reputation suffered because of Jan. 6,” Howell said[.]
“The rioters attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6 were not mere trespassers engaging in protected First Amendment conduct or protests,” Howell added. “They were not merely disorderly, as countless videos show the mob that attacked the Capitol was violent. Everyone participating in the mob contributed to that violence.”
[H]owell said there was a disconnect between the nearly apocalyptic language prosecutors have used in court filings about the Jan. 6 attack and what she called the “most minimal” charges the government settled for in plea deals.
[At] one point, the judge asked whether officials as high as Attorney General Merrick Garland had weighed in on the sentences to be pursued in Capitol riot cases.
“I’m not aware of the specifics of how plea agreements have been run up the chain. I know they have been,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Carter said.
Gallego criticized Garland not just for failing to go after former Trump officials but also going easy on the Capitol rioters who stormed the building on January 6th.
“There are people out there that should be prosecuted and Merrick Garland needs to be leading the team that does it,” he said. “Right now the sentences they’re trying to hand out to people that were caught on January 6th in the Capitol are slaps on the wrist. I don’t know what Merrick Garland is thinking he’s able to accomplish this, but he’s showing true weakness in a moment when we need actually true strength.”
Congressman Gallego is absolutely right. Merrick Garland does not appear to be the right man at the right time for the job required. We need an aggressive prosecutor who will defend American democracy as Attorney General.
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It’s awful how Garland was denied a seat on the Supreme Court, not even granted a hearing. The Attorney General position was a nice consolation prize. And President Biden is right in granting the AG full independence without White House interference. That said, if AG Garland refuses to treat the January 6 insurrectionists with the full force of the law that they’ve earned then the White House should strongly encourage him to honorably retire. And hopefully replace him with someone like Sally Yates who seemingly won’t put up with her prosecutors handing out breaks like Halloween candy. Those made it inside the Capitol and those who attacked law enforcement need to be doing some serious hard time.
Second for Sally Yates.
Yeah? Well, that’s just, like our opinion, man!
I’ve got new information man. New s*** has come to light!
Much respect for Sally Yates, still hoping Garland knows something we don’t but it sure looks like some of that “looking forward “ malarkey that kept Bush/Cheney from a trip to The Hague.