Why is Trump not already in prison? Merrick Garland and the GOP SCOTUS

Jack Smith's new brief reminds us!

As you read the headlines generated by the latest blockbuster brief filed by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Donald Trump’s Jan 6 case, the question must be asked: Why is Trump not already in prison?!

After all, Trump’s attempted coup and his Jan 6 attack discussed in detail in the new brief occurred almost four years ago.  Since then, more than “1,424 defendants have been charged in nearly all 50 states” for the role in their attack on behalf of Trump’s goal to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election.  The MAGA terrorists--and, yes they are terrorists given Jan 6 was an “act of domestic terrorism” per DOJ-who committed the most egregious crimes such as brutally beating police officers or people like the Trump loving Proud Boys leaders who helped organize the attack, still remain in prison to this day.

And while Special Counsel Smith’s brief released Wednesday is compelling, there is nothing new as to the elements of the charges against Trump. The brief tells us about Trump knowingly peddling election lies and his fake elector scheme. When that failed, Trump used his “large and angry crowd” at the Ellipse on Jan 6 as his “one last hope to prevent Biden’s certification” by delivering “a speech designed to inflame his supporters and motivate” them to head to the Capitol. And we learned of Trump’s indifference when told his VP Mike Pence’s life was in jeopardy during the Jan 6 attack, telling an aide, “So what?”

In sum, the brief notes about Trump, “When the defendant lost the 2020 presidential election, he resorted to crimes to try to stay in office.”

That, however, was very conclusion of the Jan 6 committee back in 2022 as they urged DOJ to charge Trump for various crimes including obstruction, conspiracy and inciting an insurrection. As the Jan 6 committee final report noted about the attack itself: “The central cause of January 6th was one man, former President Donald Trump, whom many others followed. None of the events of January 6th would have happened without him.”

But yet Trump still walks free. Why? The blunt answer is because of Attorney General Merrick Garland and the corrupt GOP controlled US Supreme Court.

Let’s start with Garland, who I have long criticized for his failure to swiftly prosecute Trump—including in an article for MSNBC on the one year anniversary of the Trump’s Jan 6 attack. As I wrote in Jan. 2022, if Garland does not move swiftly to hold Trump accountable, “I believe historians will count it among the key mistakes that ultimately led to the end of the United States as a democratic republic.”

If Garland had appointed a Special Counsel when he was confirmed as AG in March 2021, there is little doubt Trump would’ve been charged by mid-2022 given the volume of evidence that the Jan 6 committee laid out. Keep in mind that a month before Garland was sworn in-Feb. 2021-Trump spoke at CPAC and was talking of a potential run in 2024. If Garland was truly concerned about not looking political, that is when a Special Counsel should have been appointed.

Instead, as we have learned from The Washington Post and other sources, Garland delayed any investigation into Trump by at least one year. The reason the Washington Post noted was, “A wariness about appearing partisan, institutional caution, and clashes over how much evidence was sufficient to investigate the actions of Trump and those around him all contributed to the slow pace.”

Backing this up was NY Times reporting back in July 2022 that DOJ was not actively investigating Trump but instead focused on those who attacked the Capitol. That approach only changed after the blockbuster testimony of former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson before the Jan 6 committee in June 2022. Given the nation now heard that Trump “knew some of his supporters at a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, were armed, that he desperately wanted to join them as they marched to the Capitol and that the White House’s top lawyer feared Mr. Trump’s conduct could lead to criminal charges,” Garland was reportedly finally “jolted” into action.

That brings us to the corrupt GOP Supreme Court. In Aug 2023—just nine months after being appointed—Jack Smith obtained an indictment from a grand jury charging Trump with four serious felonies in connection with his attempted coup.  That trial would have occurred on March 4, 2024 as originally scheduled by federal Judge Tanya Chutkan. By May of 2024, Trump would have likely been convicted of federal crimes for attempting a coup.

But the GOP controlled Supreme Court did not want that to happen—so they did their best to protect the presidential nominee of their political party.  As a reminder, Trump’s lawyer had filed a motion in Oct. 2023 seeking to dismiss the charges claiming presidential immunity. Judge Chutkan rejected that motion on Dec. 1. Smith then appealed directly to the US Supreme Court to hear the appeal—thus, leap frogging the Court of Appeals—given the magnitude of the case and in an effort to expedite the process. But the GOP Justices said no, instead delaying the case by design.

Once the US Court of Appeals ruled on Feb. 6 that Trump had no immunity, the GOP SCOTUS dragged their feet—again by design. Finally, the Court rendered a horribly partisan decision on July 1 creating broad immunity for a President like Trump to commit crimes when in office.  As I wrote about in response to that ruling, the Supreme Court dangerously elevated the President to being above the law. Indeed, Justice Sonia Sotomayor bluntly wrote in her dissent, “Today’s decision to grant former Presidents criminal immunity reshapes the institution of the Presidency,” adding, “the Court gives former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more.” 

It was that ruling that prompted the latest brief by Smith’s office seeking to navigate the GOP SCOTUS decision that protects Trump from being held accountable for his crimes unless his conduct is deemed unofficial, personal actions.

Smith’s new brief makes a simple plea: “The Court determine that the defendant must stand trial for his private crimes as would any other citizen.” That would have occurred long ago if Garland had moved swiftly and the corrupt US Supreme Court didn’t protect Trump. Instead, we are now 30 days before an election that if Trump wins, he will never be held accountable for his attempted coup and Jan 6 terrorist attack. This is how democracies die—unless we prevent that by defeating Trump!

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