Justice Department won't prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn't crime
Justice Department won't prosecute Garland for contempt, says refusal to provide audio wasn't crime
The Justice Department says Attorney General Merrick Garland will not be prosecuted for contempt of Congress after refusing to turn over audio of President Joe Biden’s interview in his classified documents case because his actions “did not constitute a crime.”
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For those out of the loop. What the fuck is going on?
President Biden had classified documents when he wasn't president. This is a no no. A special counsel was created to investigate and see if he broke the law (which requires showing a level of intent). The special counsel interviewed Biden and afterwards put out a report and was like "we shouldn't procecute this case, the jury would see him as a forgetful old grandpa" (this is not a real quote).
Now congressional Republicans want the justice department to release the audio of the interview. They say they want this to find evidence of criminal activity (as if the justice department wasn't doing the same thing?) And Merrick Garland is refusing under the reasoning that it wouldn't serve a purpose, and disclosing information on someone who hasn't committed a crime, you are going to prosecute, is bad. Imagine if the government did that to all people they didn't like, start an investigation, get a bunch of dirt, and then publish it?! It's insane to me IMHO. So then they decide to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress which is the only escalation they have in this position.
Now congressional Republicans want the justice department to release the audio of the interview.
To be clear on this, they already have the transcripts. They just want to be able to chop up audio so they can put clips of it on TV.
The Republicans only want the Audio to make political commercials out of anyway.
So then they decide to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress which is the only escalation they have in this position.
Also, Merrick Garland is the head of the DOJ, and only the DOJ can prosecute contempt of Congress as a crime. So if Congress says that DOJ is acting in contempt of Congress, they're asking DOJ to prosecute itself.
In 2008 Americans elected a black man president, and the Republicans lost their shit and went scorched earth.
They lost their shit decades before that. I have no idea why people seem to remember a formerly rational Republican party. I think people were just younger and have a rosy recollection of politicians who served before we formed a coherent political worldview.
It's been a process.
TBF, they lost their collective minds over the Clintons, too. Bill was largely a right-leaning centrist but Hillary has a tendency to speak her mind (shock! horror! she's not some decorative arm piece? Who the hell does she think she is, anyway?) Also, some people were proclaiming him to be the "first black President" and that alone probably drove them crazier.
Just started a book by Coates about that
https://ta-nehisicoates.com/books/we-were-eight-years-in-power/