Petty Narcissism Can Be a Bitch
Segment # 073
A few days ago I wrote a piece entitled “The Great Trump Miscalculation”. It seems now Merritt Garland has returned the favor by making an equally stupid blunder. Every time this Attorney General steps to the microphone he provides ample proof that McConnell’s power play was justified on grounds unknown to anyone at the time debating the move. Quite apparently Garland’s feelings were hurt and he was determined to finds retribution against Trump regardless of the fallout. People that are this self-centered and petty do not belong in a position of power. The voting population left, right, and center are clearly aware that Trump has been persecuted for over six years. They either are or will become crystal clear once the House investigations start in January that a good portion of this was baseless, totally unconstitutional and in some cases criminal. I doubt seriously any case against Trump who is now a candidate for the presidency will be successful. Failure will be the uncovering of a totally biased FBI and DOJ. This obviously will not make Garland look objective, dignified or for that matter worthy of the office. Even if Trump reacts predictably angry and vindictive himself and is politically wounded with centrist voters making it impossible for him to be elected, the benefit still accrues to the Republican party and candidates like DeSantis, Haley, Pompeo, Scott, and Rubio. As I have said before Trump was cheated, maligned, falsely accused, and not given the respect due him. As we have seen since 2015 Trump does not react well to being attacked and often creates cringe worthy moments for his supporters. Garland’s inability to read the room is a monumental miscalculation that will serve to create more division, more animosity, and ultimately less support for him and his DOJ.
Merrick Garland’s Special Counsel Mistake on Trump
The Attorney General’s decision offers the appearance of political insulation that Trump supporters won’t believe.
Updated Nov. 18, 2022 6:38 pm ET
Wonder Land: The former President has announced his 2024 candidacy by throwing his failed 'Stop the Steal' acolytes off the train, and talking about real issues rather than a rigged 2020 election. Images: Reuters/Getty Images Composite: Mark Kelly
Merrick Garland’s decision Friday to appoint a special counsel in the criminal investigations of Donald Trump is almost certainly a mistake, as such appointments usually are. This won’t offer the Attorney General the political insulation he is seeking, and it won’t change the inherently political nature of any decision to prosecute.
“Based on recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a Special Counsel,” Mr. Garland said at the Justice Department. “Such an appointment underscores the Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.”
It would be nice to think that were true, but more than Mr. Garland’s intentions are involved here. Jack Smith, the counsel Mr. Garland named, has a sterling prosecutorial resume. For all we know he’s Eliot Ness. But no one in the Trump universe is going to believe that any decision to prosecute Mr. Trump would be truly independent of the Attorney General who works for President Biden. That’s plain reality.
A spokesperson for Mr. Trump was quick to underscore the point: “This is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice.” Robert Mueller, the Russia collusion special counsel, staffed his investigation with partisan Democrats, and his probe turned into a debacle. That’s the unhappy context that Mr. Smith will have to deal with, however unfair that is to him.
The AG has handed Mr. Smith decisions on both the Mar-a-Lago documents case and whether Mr. Trump or others “unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power” after the 2020 election or with the Electoral College vote count. We’ve yet to see evidence that Mr. Trump committed a criminal offense on the latter, and the Presidential Records Act stipulates minor penalties for mishandling documents.
The prosecution of a former President, especially one running against Mr. Biden, had better be for serious offenses. The evidence should be so compelling that it persuades fair-minded Republicans, not merely MSNBC or CNN anchors. Mr. Garland signed up to make these difficult calls when he agreed to be AG, and he should have made them on Mr. Trump himself.
