Panelists on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" bashed Attorney General Merrick Garland for taking a methodical approach to prosecuting former President Donald Trump's allies for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas.
The House Select Committee this week issued five subpoenas to five GOP lawmakers -- House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Mo Brooks (R-AL), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Scott Perry (R-PA) -- but they have made clear they intend to defy those orders, just as Trump ally Mark Meadows has done with no real consequences.
"I mean, come on -- this is ridiculous," said panelist Elise Jordan. "What is Merrick Garland waiting on? Come on, get in the game -- fight, fight. He's going to be on the other end of power, the losing end. You think Republicans are going to sit back and be like, 'Oh, we're not getting much legislating done because we'd look political if we did these investigations.'"
"This is legitimate, there are subpoenas out there," Jordan added. "The fact that sitting members of Congress don't care enough to reply and to actually go and report and speak the way that you and I are petrified to not go to jury duty is ridiculous. They need to get on with the business of the day."
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Panelist Mike Barnicle agreed, saying Garland has failed to show the appropriate sense of urgency toward the Jan. 6 investigation.
"Merrick Garland, I've never heard anyone say anything negative about him, he's obviously a good guy, a smart guy, an honorable guy, but he acts like a judge," Barnicle said. "You need a prosecutor in these situations."
MSNBC's Jonathan Lemire said senior Biden administration officials and advisers shared that frustration with the attorney general's inaction.
"There is growing frustration," Lemire said. "One does not have to be in Washington to know this. There is growing frustration among Democrats, among the inner circle of the White House, at how slowly Merrick Garland has proceeded here. They're not going to publicly pressure him, this president said he's not going to do what his predecessor did -- bright lines between the White House and DOJ -- but there is a real sense that Garland has been unwilling to begin the investigations which are cut and dry -- people defying subpoenas, they're held in criminal contempt."
"The question you hear a lot from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Democratic leadership, what is Merrick Garland waiting for?" he added.