President Joe Biden has a remarkably Trumpian air when it comes to handling the U.S. attorney general: now, as under precedent, an attorney general who appears to demonstrate some independence from the political desires of the White House can expect a frontal attack.
This is evidenced by the multitude of anonymous White House aides who suggested in an article in the Wall Street Journal that the relationship between Biden and Merrick Garland has transformed into “resignation and distrust,” a veritable “deep freeze.”
Garland’s sins include appointing a special counsel to investigate the shady activities of his first son, Hunter, who later indicted Hunter on gun charges after his initial plea deal fell through and without previous.
Never mind that the special prosecutor is Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, who has slowed down the Hunter investigation for years (clearly at the behest of Central Justice, the White House, and likely the Delaware establishment).
Or that the gun charges only come After the intense scrutiny from Congress and the embarrassing collapse of the deal that Weiss & Co. tried to let Hunter slide.
Garland also had the temerity to appoint a special counsel when Joe’s questionable retention and loose storage of classified documents exploded into the public eye.
I can’t have that — hence the use of leaks to send a warning shot to the Department of Justice.
This takes you right back to then-President Donald Trump’s now-famous complaint in 2018 that “my guys” in the “Trump Department of Justice” under then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not wouldn’t just do what he wanted.
(Which, in this case, by the way, consisted of publishing a note asserting that correctly that the Russiagate investigation was based on shoddy and politically motivated evidence.)
The press went savage when Trump spoke that way; these remarks made headlines across the country; prominent Democrats have expressed feverish dreams about Russian collusion and the impending death of democracy.
But how is what Biden clearly wants from Garland (i.e. to be an all-purpose political attack and defense dog à la Robert F. Kennedy) any different?
Indeed, Biden himself complained publicly, years ago, about Garland’s inability to accuse Trump of anything — which the AG quickly did, so he has a bit of Kennedy in him after all.
He also played along when White House aides asked him to report parents who spoke at local school board meetings to the FBI.
Garland therefore does not meet the “just say no to political pressure” standard set by Trump AG Sessions and Bill Barr.
But Joe and Donald have more in common than supporters of both sides want to admit.
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