Attorney General Merrick Garland has received harsh criticism for apparently not having indicted any top Trump associates for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But one national security expert argued on Sunday that we might not know if arrests have occurred.
One of Garland's prominent critics is the man who taught him constitutional law at Harvard Law School.
"Merrick Garland will be one of the greatest Attorneys General in American history, bar none. As my brilliant con law student, a principled prosecutor, and later a superb DC Circuit judge, he has displayed integrity, courage, fair-mindedness, and humanity," Laurence Tribe tweeted hours before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In the year since, Tribe has grown frustrated with Garland's public performance.
I had a good conversation with @chrislhayes about the urgent need for DOJ to conduct a thorough criminal investigation of ALL the leaders of the coup plot and the insurrection, including Trump, and NOT wait for the Jan 6 committee to finish its work. That\u2019d be too late:https://twitter.com/allinwithchris/status/1474195461401632772\u00a0\u2026— Laurence Tribe (@Laurence Tribe) 1640319178
Security researcher Marcy Wheeler, who posts online under the handle "emptywheel," suggested that the timeline of the Mueller investigation shows the Department of Justice may not be moving slower in investigation Jan. 6.
"A lot of people like to claim WE'D (sic) know if DOJ had taken actions to investigate Trump and say that DOJ is moving too slowly as compared the lightning (sic) fast Mueller investigation." she wrote, referring to ex-Trump aide George Papadopoulos.
She noted we did not learn Manafort had been busted until even later in the investigation.
"Admittedly Paul Manafort was searched a day earlier, though we didn't learn about THAT (sic) until August 9 (so the equivalent of January 15," she noted.
Tribe has noted that Garland could clear this by announcing there is an investigation, which is allowed under DOJ rules in specific circumstances.
Rule 1-7.400(C), DOJ Justice Manual:\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhen the community needs to be reassured that the appropriate law enforcement agency is investigating a matter . . . confirmation of an ongoing investigation may be necessary, subject to [the AG\u2019s] approval.\u201d \u2014 h/t Robert Hubbell.— Laurence Tribe (@Laurence Tribe) 1640781490
Wheeler's thread:
The Coffee Boy was arrested 4 days short of the 1 year opening of the Russian investigation--the equivalent of ... today.\n\nIt did not become public that he had been arrested until he pled guilty two months later.— emptywheel (@emptywheel) 1641153130
In September, a judge ordered Special Master to conduct a privilege review of Rudy's phones from 1/1/18 (which is when Rudy first started helping Trump obstruct justice) thru seizure, so 4/28/21 (meaning it would include anything Rudy did to help the coup)https://www.emptywheel.net/2021/12/05/rudys-phones-defy-guarantees-wed-know-of-an-investigation-into-trump/\u00a0\u2026— emptywheel (@emptywheel) 1641153620
