So. Looks like we need to win an election.
But if we can’t put people who try to overthrow the country behind bars (and, as an advocacy community, if we cannot effectively advocate for those outcomes), then winning the election will not save us: They will just keep on insurrection-ing until they succeed.
And unfortunately, we have gone far down the path of tolerating that, because we have been given arguments that shouldn’t have made it past our BS detectors, but did.
So let’s review, and learn. We’ll begin with:
What Marcy Wheeler Said Two Years Ago
Roughly two years ago, we were 1.5 years out from Jan. 6, and the Congressional J6 Committee’s public testimony was heating up, which was putting pressure on the DOJ.
Marcy Wheeler, an independent journalist covering these topics who has a sizeable online following, and who has generally made it her mission to defend the DOJ and its Attorney General from criticism regarding the Jan. 6 investigation, stepped in with the following piece:
I think she meant “whining”. Anyway:
The gist of the post was that contrary to the concerns of the unenlightened, the DOJ at that time had robust investigations underway for the following individuals, each named and discussed in her post:
- Rudy Giuliani; Roger Stone; Sidney Powell; Alex Jones; Ali Alexander; Jeffrey Clark; John Eastman; various Fake Electors players; Steve Bannon; and Peter Navarro.
Per her usual, Ms. Wheeler presented many facts to support her assertions.
Today, however, we need make only one observation:
Three (3) years and four (4) months after the insurrection, none (zero) of the people Ms. Wheeler pointed to have been indicted by DOJ as a result of those “investigations”.
While conclusions can most likely already be reached, we will drive them beyond all doubt, by looking at:
The Watergate Comparisons
Comparisons between Jan. 6 and Watergate (which brought down the Nixon Presidency) were made in “the early times” to remind us to be patient while justice ran its course.
Forty months in, we will now revisit this topic, by use of a convenient comparison table. Please review the information below, and then proceed:
|
Watergate
|
Jan. 6 |
|
|
|
Started With: |
A hotel break-in and wiretapping |
Mob storming US Capitol and attempting to kill US Congressional Reps and Vice President, stop Presidential Certification, and install a dictator. |
National Security Threat: |
Moderate. If unchecked, could lead to Nixon committing further Constitutional abuses. |
HIGHEST IN NATION’S HISTORY. Immediate threat of overthrow of democratic government by violent coup. |
DOJ Investigation Status, 40 months in: |
Criminal Conviction of:
US Attorney General;
White House Counsel;
POTUS chief of staff;
various others.
POTUS (Nixon) resigned and pardoned by next President (out of DOJ’s hands).
Summary: DOJ Mission Accomplished
|
Former POTUS (Trump) indicted, no trial expected before 2024 election
No others indicted (i.e. for planning the insurrection)
Conspirators (other than Trump) still not identified
Bomber still at large
Summary: DOJ Mission in Utter Jeopardy
|
While I appreciate that Trump has been indicted, he was not the Jan. 6 planner or mastermind (obviously). Various of the others on Ms. Wheeler’s list likely played many of those roles. So let’s be clear:
- The Watergate-era DOJ, in <40 months, was able to Convict. The. Attorney. General.
- Today’s DOJ, in 40+ months with the nation’s future on the line, can’t even get to Roger eff-ing Stone.
I trust we have consensus this is a tremendous failure.
BS Detector Tune-Ups
Let’s reach some conclusions about how we need to tune the BS detectors, going forward.
- De-weight the input of Marcy Wheeler. She spends a lot of time studying the issue, but she is not a lawyer, and she has never worked at the DOJ, and thus lacks perspective.
- Up-weight the input of Glenn Kirschner, who is a lawyer and former DOJ prosecutor. Speaking with the experience of someone who is realistically grounded in how that organization should operate, Kirschner has been very critical of DOJ performance (while remaining respectful of Merrick Garland personally).
- Recognize that yes, when Congress is obtaining Jan. 6 investigation findings faster than DOJ, that is not good.
- Recognize that when a sitting state Attorney General says the DOJ is moving so slow that she takes her fake electors case back from them, that ought to remove all doubt.
- When Washington Post investigative reporting shows that the DOJ delayed the investigation for a year, the correct conclusion is that the DOJ delayed the investigation for a year. Running to Marcy Wheeler for creative alternative interpretations is...not going to happen any more. Right?
- Stop putting the bomber down the memory hole. That criminal played a key role in the insurrection and could quite possibly lead to the center of the conspiracy, if identified. The person is almost certainly not a political figure, and the DOJ should have all the tools needed to find this person, especially when 800 of their closest friends most likely have been or are still in DOJ custody. Demand that DOJ find the bomber, using all possible resources.
- Recognize that while a Special Counsel has been brought in, their scope need only include matters relating directly to the investigation and prosecution of the former President. The DOJ and its leadership remains directly responsible, and must be held responsible, for the broader investigation, including investigation of all of the other conspirators named above.
- And as such, recognize that the President does lead the DOJ along with all branches of government, and while allowing them to be as independent as possible, must not allow the department to totally fail the nation. If the Attorney General will not fix the situation, at some point the President must.
Conclusion
We need to win an election...
...against someone who publicly and violently tried to overthrow the previous election 4 years ago, along with many other conspirators, all of whom are free (and all but one un-indicted by DOJ for these crimes) today.
The necessary conclusions are these:
- Defeating insurrectionists at the ballot box is clearly necessary, but, is not the only means of combating them that our society must be capable of;
- Law enforcement also has a major role to play in holding insurrectionists accountable;
- And we have a role to play in holding law enforcement accountable when they fail us.
Going forward, Democrats are going to need some better BS detectors, regarding the DOJ’s work holding insurrectionists accountable.
Epilogue
My prior writings in this area.
1.5 Years After Jan. 6: Questions About DOJ That Need to be Asked Right Now
20 Months After Jan. 6. Is Rule of Law Enforced? Are our Elections Protected?
22 (Almost 23) Months after Jan. 6. Any progress in the last ~6 months? Bueller?
Two Years After Jan. 6: Biden Needs To Pick a New Attorney General.
26 Months After Jan. 6: DOJ's Failure is Not Its Inaction against Trump, but Against His Underlings
(In Other News) 27 Months After Jan. 6: Why it's a Disaster That They Haven't Caught the Bomber
Jan. 6: Congratulations to DOJ on Proud Boys Convictions. But Where Do We Go From Here?
29 Months After Jan. 6: District Attorney from Fulton County, Georgia is Lapping the DOJ
2.5 years since Jan. 6: When the DOJ fails America, "Patience" is not the right answer.
A Sincere Thank-You to Michigan Attorney General Nessel and Her Team
Thank you to Jack Smith and his team. And, Good luck from here on out.
Thank You to Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis and her Team
34 Months After Jan. 6: Bomber Still at Large. Investigation Flaws Highlight Lack of Leadership.
3 Years After Jan. 6: The Conspiracy Is Still Not Cracked. Are We Prepared for 1/6/2025?