---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Brenner, Michael <mbren@pitt.edu>
Date: Mon, Oct 10, 2022
From: Brenner, Michael <mbren@pitt.edu>
Date: Mon, Oct 10, 2022
Friends & Colleagues
Many have hoped that justice would prevail, that the
resilience of the American principle of equality before the law would be reaffirmed. There were also doubters skeptical that Donald Trump ever would be indicted for any of his multiple crimes-before, during, or after his Presidency. I was among the latter
- my pessimism now stronger that ever. WHY?
- We have endowed the Presidency with attributes more appropriate of a monarchy than a Republic. It has been sacrilized as the incarnation of a transcendent America whoever happens to be seated in the White House. "Respect the Oval Office'- we are instructed. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Constrain your criticism. A healthy interpretation of these strictures would place greater stress on the integrity of the person and the democratic polity of which he is custodian: before entering the Oval Office, take off your shoes; look at the track record before subordinating truth to deference; avoid the 4-letter words and, thereby, set an example for all high officials so fond of these 'tough-guy' gestures
- Trump has terrorized the entire American political Establishment - they're intimidated.
- Biden has made it known that he is uncomfortable with any criminal proceedings against Trump. In addition to having imbibed the sacred mythology about the Presidency, he is deeply devoted to the notion that 'unity' is not only the most important, ultimately it is the only thing that counts. He worries about further division in the country and believes that indictment will hurt the Democrats electorally. Finally, he has no stomach for such high drama
- This widely shared view, and signal, most probably influenced the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York who a few months ago summarily shut down the active investigation of Trump's illicit real estate and financial dealings - without explanation. The two lead prosecutors on the case quit in disgust-the MSM and Democrats took it in stride.
- As this article points out, Garland has been giving the investigation a slow walk. I do not know why exactly. However, one has the strong impression that there is little of the prosecutor in his make-up even though he would have made a fine Supreme Court Justice
- If the DOJ were serious in nailing Trump, they could move for an indictment using the ample evidence already assembled. Let's recall that Sandy Berger was convicted of taking classified documents for the National Archives for stuffing a couple of sheaths in his underwear. (This was just after 9/11 when both Clinton and Bush officials feared that something embarrassing might be revealed; the Commision that not as yet agreed on a bipartisan whitewash.) The entire proceeding was disposed of in a few months
Cheers
Michael Brenner
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Attorney General Merrick Garland drew criticism from former federal prosecutors on Thursday over his handling of the Justice Department's investigation into classified records seized from former ...
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