Originally published at: DOJ Moves to Dismiss Trump January 6 Case - TPM – Talking Points Memo
In the final death blow to the Justice Department’s two prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump, prosecutors formally asked a D.C. federal judge to dismiss the January 6 case against him. The move almost certainly spells the end of federal attempts to hold Trump criminally accountable for his efforts to stage a coup after losing the…
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Can’t wait for those sweet sweet Jack Smith reports. Especially the classified documents case—what documents did Trump stash away for anyone to read at MAL? Should’ve had the info before the election really but better late than never.
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The Presidential immunity ruling by the so-called strict contructionist members of the Supreme Court was (and is) bull shit. It was made up from whole cloth. The phrase “no man is above the law” is pablum.
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Sigh. And they called Reagan the Teflon president.
I feel like we, the country, let Smith down. You know he’s got the goods – he simply ran into too many people willing to put tcf above the law, especially Cannon and SCOTUS.
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The OLC memo is bullshit and was made up from whole cloth, too. Rachel Maddow did a really great deep dive into it on her “Bag Man” podcast. The short version: it was written to shield the corrupt Nixon presidency from the even more corrupt Agnew Vice Presidency, when it was clear that the shit was about to hit the fan for everyone.
The Supreme Court’s immunity ruling built on that and added a whole lot of imagination to get to its preordained outcome.
Let’s hope Jack Smith goes scorched earth with his final report, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
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I need some hope so tell me what evidence you have that Smith will release the reports and at the same time retain the privilege of prosecuting the dotard in four years. All this hoping for some justice takes me to the way back machine and waiting for “Fitzmas” when US Atty Pat Fitzgerald would indict Rove and Libby for revealing the name of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame for political retribution against her husband Joe Wilson who had debunked their claims of Iraq importing Uranium from Niger for their nuclear project. Mushroom clouds over Manhattan days. Fitzgerald dropped the charges in the end. Very dispiriting.
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Sad, but not surprising.
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Jack Smith goes scorched earth
0% possibility – we already know most of what will be in it, I think.
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Thank you Mitch McConnell you anti American POS.
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To misquote Dean Martin, “Ain’t that a kick in the nads.”
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The whole Congressional investigation pretty much had the whole story, complete with the players and their part in the scheme. All of the testimony, under oath, laid it all out clearly and specifically. Teflon Don escapes again.
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We know the broad outlines from the indictments, but Smith has oodles of documents and witness interviews* that will enable him to comprehensively document trump’s criminality. There is no reason to think he won’t unload.
*Not including the grand jury testimony, as that’s required by law to remain secret.
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So for all those who said for the last 3-1/2 years that the President-Elect will spend the rest of his life in prison, I contend he will spend the rest of his life in the Oval Office.
Not quite the same thing, is it?
The system of Justice is now a complete fraud. No equal justice under the law. End of story.
And don’t try to make me feel better that the cases could be re-opened later. They won’t be. Ever.
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And here I was just starting to climb out of my post-election depression and malaise.
I acknowledge that it was probably all inevitable, but my faith in there being any sort of justice in the world has taken a severe, perhaps fatal blow.
Guess I’m going to have to do what many others are doing and step back for a while. Perhaps a very long while.
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And then what?
Let’s say the report details in stunning accuracy everything the President-Elect did that wasn’t legal. The document will probably be in excess of 800 pages in length.
So what?
We can document his criminality until the cows AND the goats come home, but not a thing will come of it to punish him for anything he’s done. Waiting until his Presidency is over? Four years from now? Will the new administration make sure that any of the remaining witnesses haven’t fallen out of a window or received immense payments to forget what they saw and heard with their own eyes?
When are we gonna get serious about the fact that he has literally gotten away with everything and will see nary a single penalty?
It’s over, folks. Let the 2025 games begin, unobstructed.
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Did anyone expect anything else? Let’s note it, get over it, and move on.
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Performative nihilism is so tedious.
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So is performative rationalization.
We’ve been had.
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Yup. Regardless of what happens next, or what happens eventually, this is a marker for history. The US of A is not a nation of laws. Doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope for a better future; it simply means that actual justice is only a concept.
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It’s interesting that Smith plans to continue the prosecutions of the conspirators in the Mar-a-Lago case…he’s not going to let that go. As it should be, he’s laying the groundwork for Trump to submit a corrupt pardon right out the gate of his presidency, as well as a corrupt firing of Smith. Which won’t be a surprise, but it will lay a marker for what’s coming. It also gives cover for the other prosecutions to continue, like in GA against everyone not Trump, and the AZ fake electors case.
Trump somehow gets away with things, but if the justice system can hold his accomplices accountable then he may have more trouble getting people to do bad deeds for him. It’s hard to hold onto that bit of hope though, especially with what looks like plans to undo our system of government on the table.
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