OPINION: Republicans Fear Garland
OPINION: Republicans Fear Garland
By Wes & Anna Hessel
Champion of Justice
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is again seeking to bring justice to our nation, this time by facilitating the FBI search and seizure of alleged classified documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago residence. Much to the chagrin of Republican party, the files were said to have been taken from the White House upon Trump’s departure.
Justice Delayed
Mr. Garland, a Chicago native and Harvard graduate, should be an associate justice of the Supreme Court, but the obstructionist right-wing GOP controlled Senate, lead by Mitch McConnell, in March 2016 refused to even take up the then Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit’s nomination by President Obama. This maneuver continued on until the nomination expired in January 2017, leading to the Republicans seizing the spot vacated by the late Justice Scalia to be filled by their extremist nominee Neil Gorsuch.
Obstruction of Justice
The Republican Party have now made Attorney General Garland their newest Public Enemy Number One, demanding his immediate resignation. The GOP insists that they will investigate Merrick should they regain their control of Congress. We must strenuously prevent this miscarriage of justice from occurring. Mr. Garland, with his consistent record of protecting our nation and democracy, in no way deserves this treatment.
Capitol Crimes
Donald Trump’s involvement in the January 6th insurrection is chilling, at best. Barring the very justified actions of the Justice Department would serve to let Trump quite literally get away with murder. “The Donald”’s blatant refusal to intervene in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol makes him culpable for the deaths of those who lost their lives as a result of this heinous violent attempt to stop the peaceful Constitutional transfer of power to the rightfully elected Joseph Biden.
Pursuit of Justice
Attorney General Garland’s heroic efforts include adroitly standing up to a slew of Republican attacks. He has masterfully led the investigation of Mr. Trump’s lies and crimes, with a courageous pursuit of truth regarding this vile attack on our democracy. Merrick is quoted as saying, “We intend to hold everyone, anyone, who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding January 6th…accountable.” We must support our Attorney General Merrick Garland in the prosecution of “45”, so that Trump will be banned from ever holding or even running for public office again.
No Just Cause
“The Donald”’s and his allies’ attempts to overturn the 2020 election must not remain unpunished. As Mr. Garland fearlessly pilots the Justice Department’s examination of Trump’s involvement in the riot, the Republican Party is making every effort to halt this investigation. Marjorie Taylor Greene has gone so far as to file articles of impeachment against our Attorney General.
Buy The Lie
Mr. Garland has stated that he, “personally approved”, searching Trump’s home in Mar-A-Lago. There were 147 GOP members who voted to try to overturn the legal election results of 2020, including Ms. Taylor Greene, Ted Cruz, and Josh Hawley. Apparently they buy into the lie that the election results were “stolen”, when in fact President Joe Biden had received the most certified votes of any presidential candidate in history.
Justice Served
And Merrick Garland has strongly demonstrated his lifelong quest for justice, beginning his illustrious career as a federal prosecutor in 1989. His first prominent action was as one of the trio of the lead prosecution for the cocaine possession case of former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. As Deputy Assistant Attorney General during President Clinton’s term, Mr. Garland oversaw the prosecution of such critical cases as the bombings in Atlanta during the Olympics and the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski.
Boots On The Ground
He began leading the prosecution of the horrific truck bomb attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in person on-site, and was the federal government’s primary attorney during the preliminary hearings for the two main co-conspirators, Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Garland was then integral in the selection of the team for their trial, and even garnered accolades from then-Governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating, a Republican.
“Well-Qualified” Jurist
In September of 1995, President Clinton nominated Merrick for the eleventh seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Republicans in the Senate refused to bring his nomination to vote over an argument of whether that seat needed to be filled in the D.C. federal circuit, despite a highest possible “well-qualified” rating of Mr. Garland by the Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary of the American Bar Association.
Try, Try Again…
When Clinton was reelected, he renewed Merrick’s nomination in January 1997. On March 19th when it was put to a vote, Mr. Garland was confirmed with the significant margin of 76-23, even with continued Republican Senate control. The GOP Senators primarily voted for confirmation, amongst them Jim Inhofe, Susan Collins, Orrin Hatch, and John McCain. His opponents were all Republican, with the likes of Jeff Sessions, Chuck Grassley, and Mitch McConnell. He was elevated to Chief Judge of the district in February of 2013.
Stand Up And Be Counted
It is imperative that Attorney General Merrick Garland receives the support of the American people in his relentless pursuit to bring Donald Trump to justice. The Editorial Board of the New York Times has called on Mr. Garland to prosecute Trump if there is “sufficient evidence”. That there is such evidence is obvious, so we need to stand with the Times board and our U.S. Attorney General in pursuing Trump for his crimes.
