My honest opinion is Biden was an amazing legislator - and was not a good leader. We needed someone much stronger than he was and are now suffering the consequences.
Gosh, many of us noticed, a good while ago, that Garland had dropped the ball with prosecutions of Jan 6 co conspirators, including tfg. What took Biden so long?
As Trump said to Biden…
You never fire anyone. Garland was placed by the Democrats to make up for Obama’s failure to fight to get him on the court. Biden should have made the rolling coup a priority but again failed because he too thought he was a judge and not a politician with absolute power
Democrats are playing by the rules and Republicans NEVER play by the rules. Garland was a prime example of that. Do you think with Bondi as AG and Patel at FBI they will play by the rules? HELL NO!🤬
Biden’s presidency is a massive fail - failure to prosecute Trump for multiple crimes, failure to legislate against Trump ever running for 2nd term on account of attempted insurrection, failure in a Gaza, the disaster of the presidential election.
Biden, not Garland was the problem. Garland could have started prosecuting Trump on day one and the clock would still have run out & Trump would have relished the victim hood.
I’d gently suggest that there might be no particular individual responsible for the fact that a convicted rapist & insurrectionist has been elected POTUS. It is a massive collective failure of democracy that is undoubtedly the child of many fathers.
If there is another pandemic or event that takes the lives of thousands of Americans due to Trump's incompetence as what occured during COVID- the blood will also be on Garland's hands.
We suck at picking attorney generals. Eric Holder was arguably worse, formalizing the idea that racketeering CEOs would pay fines with no admission of guilt rather than ever face criminal charges. He was a founding father of our kleptocracy.
All of this mess could have been avoided if Garland pushed the trials along and convicted the orange man. He would be in a jail cell instead of running our country next month. It’s embarrassing.
I'm a loyal Biden supporter and I respect Merrick Garland as a judge upholding the rule of law...he should be a Supreme Court Justice...but, prosecutors must have a killer instinct...it's a different mentality than being a judge...huge mistake in judgement by Biden.
Merrick Garland should have been appointed a Supreme Court Justice but Mitch McConnell cheated Obama out of that appointment. He could have been a good justice but he made a lousy Attorney General.
I wish similar to the majority of states we elected the federal Attorney General. Attorneys General should work for the people and for justice and not be subservient to any President. If we somehow end up in a Constitutional Convention this would be one of my top priorities.
Merrick Garland is a perfect example of how the Democrats use “the rules” as an excuse not to do things they really don’t want to do that people who voted for them want to do.
Far from the only one.
And far from the only reason why Democrats are hemorrhaging support.
They thing they will remember hasn't happened quite yet; Joe Biden sitting slack jawed at trump’s second inauguration, looking like an idiot celebrating this clusterfuck🤬
He could have replaced him. Biden is a good man but timid & continued to act as though he was in the political climate of the Senate in the 90's. He never developed the skills to govern in today's world. Slow reactions, course corrections that never came doomed him and now us.
Bingo. The entire left (including myself) bought into the narrative that American Values™️ had won out and took that as proof that the country had turned completely away from Trumpism.
Biden didn't want to look "political." We hired him to take out the garbage and he and his wife thought they won because of something else, apparently. He looked powerless as the DOJ abused his son.
It should have felt like the hammer of God dropping on trump and his mob. Now we might have to deal with him running for election in 2028 because rules, laws, and the constitution don't apply to Trump.
He picked him due the disrespect the republican senate showed him. That's not a reason. And being a SC justice is not the same as a prosecuting attorney.
Just following the rules, son.
No presidential interference to the DOJ.
Peaceful handover to monsters.
It’s the righteous rules as they were.
He’s still saying,“That’s what we do in a democracy.”
Garland was a sympathy pick. In another era, this might have been admirable. But in a time when we were facing rampant criminality and dangerous sedition, and political machine with bottomless ambition, Biden needed an aggressive prosecutor in that role, not a thoughtful Talmudic judge.
I read a long, thoughtful piece about him when he was first nominated, and he struck me as a deeply moral man, not taking sides but weighing and measuring against a legal ideal. In other words, a judge. He's not a bad man. He was and is simply the very, very wrong man for that job in our time.
All right, Eileen, have a good Sunday. [raises hands] I never run from a fight, I'm impulsive and intense, this kind of guy just drives me to distraction, omfg......
Trust me; I'm just as outraged as you are. The fault, I believe, was Biden's for making the choice and then sticking with him when it was clear a fierce and relentless prosecutor was what was needed.
I sometimes wonder how different things would have been if Biden had picked Jack Smith to be AG. Trump would already be in prison instead of heading back to the White House.
Whatever one thinks of Garland (and my opinion of him... is skeptical at best), Americans can cast their vote for someone sitting in a jail cell in an orange jumpsuit if they so choose. Absolutely nothing in Constitutional law prevents it.
If everything else didn't sink Trump, why would this?
I sympathize w/ how difficult it is to swallow, but at the end of the day modest inflation and generic economic concerns were enough for enough people to vote for a convicted felon.
Lots of Americans really are just that fickle and short-sighted.
For a lot of people, yes. Polling clearly reports more people doing better in their perrsonal finances while they were convinced the national economy sucked (¯\_(ツ)_/¯) - but that's not so much a failure of messaging as people's basic mindset.
Understandable as it is that *some* people were not doing well (and we should acknowledge that), when your overriding concern is, IMO, with money and cheap goods; so much so that voting for a convicted felon is even an option for you, you need to get your values sorted out 'cause this ain't it.
They didn’t want to look political, turned out they did regardless, but without exposing everything he did. Might as well look political but at least get it out there.
And he was right. Garland should have declined the offer. He had to know trump would need to be charged for crimes. Garland saw the public wanted justice. He knew he wasn't capable of pursuing it; he should've resigned.
Mitch & Merrick.. they are responsible for this.
Biden's whole term was a train wreck. What he ran on:
Police reform
Student debt relieve
Economy for all
Rich pay fair taxes
What we got:
The biggest slush fund in American history for construction conglomerates
A shit ton of DEI promotions
Sometimes wanting to not appear partisan needs to take a back seat to seeking justice. It will always appear politically motivated when you decide to prosecute individuals that plotted and carried through with an attempted coup. Garland needed to get over his fears and do his job. It never happened.
I agree Garland was not aggressive enough. That said, I don’t think a more aggressive AG would’ve garnered a better result. It was SCOTUS who stepped in & stopped the J6 trial that was set to begin March 2024. Nor would it’ve prevented Cannon dragging her feet & eventually dismissing the docs case.
President Biden’s biggest mistake was appointing Merrick Garland. His second biggest mistake was not replacing him when he knew he wasn’t up to or willing to do the job.
History will not look favorably on the AG or the choice to select him. I always thought Harris would have put all this to rest, if she was not chosen to be VP
Hell, Matt Gaetz would have been a better choice. He demonstrated a lot more zeal and sense of purpose chasing underage children than Garland did chasing Trump.
Unbelievable to me that Garland was allowed to stay, that Musk keeps his government contracts and we have a charade of a peaceful transfer of power so we can be handed over to a fascist regime. I am bitter.
So am I and it's because we've been betrayed by the men we trusted to uphold the law and they did not and the commander in chief sat on his hands for FOUR years allowing time to slip away and are we supposed to believe it was a mistake?
@sarahkendzior.bsky.social has written about Biden being just a placeholder and , if you haven't read, or don't follow her, I highly recommend it! She has the receipts on everything she writes.
Not incompetent.
Cowardly, yes, but most definitely, COMPLICIT.
Running out the clock in such a pivotal situation for a country doesn’t happen by accident.
I said that the day after J6 but people thought i was being too harsh. The guy would have made a great SCOTUS justice but as an AG he was a weak, ineffectual, dithering, ballless wonder who tried to be too goody goody. Trying to not be 'political' he became even more so. The worst AG in history.
If anyone was responsible for Trump escaping accountability, it was his inability to act promptly and strongly after J6. His withering delays did the country wrong.
Wrong. DOJ started the investigation of J6 immediately after. SCOTUS saved trump by delaying all fed cases against him for 10 months. It's SCOTUS, not Garland, not DOJ
Reference of legal fed experts you can consult instead of trolling me:
@weissmann11.bsky.social
@profmmurray.bsky.social
@joycevance.bsky.social
Prof. Lawrence Tribe (Garland's law professor)
etc.
SCOTUS wasn't even in the picture then.
So I guess you b know everything about how it works? Tell us, when did he even start investigating? A full year after J6. And then waited another 6-7 months to appoint a special pros. Speak to a legal expert like prof Tribe who had the same opinion, before you claim to know all about fed pros..
Being "goody goody" is a fatal flaw amongst many Democrats. No one gets points for being correct and losing just cause you followed all the rules and norms against those who never do.
Merrick Garland will go down as one of the greatest failures in law enforcement, in the history of this country. One of the greatest attack of our sovereignty since Pearl Harbor was perpetrated by fellow Americans including people in our very government up to the Presidency itself.
Merrick Garland is the Attorney General the chief law enforcement officer in the land. Whose job was to bring these insurrectionist to justice, to follow the facts wherever it led, to whoever was involved even up to the President himself. Yet he did nothing but hope for the best for almost 2 years.
Instead over that time, the job of getting answers to why and how it happened fell to state attorney generals and Congress, doing the job that he was sworn to do. He was derelict in his duties and he profoundly failed this country. Now we’ll suffer the consequences of his incompetence.
That was obvious to everyone in year one. Garland may have been a good judge but was fucking terrible as an enforcer of the law. Biggest boon Biden ever gave MAGA was hiring a golden retriever in the role best filled by a cane corso.
Replace Garland NOW then! What a freakin’ coward Biden has been about Garland, Wray, DeJoy, Musk, etc. I love Biden but he has to ACT TO SAVE THE CONSTITUTION & THE COUNTRY!
Seriously, you want President Biden to appoint a new
AG at this late date in his term? Do you think the Senate will confirm the appointment the next day?
Clearly not. Even if Biden tried to replace him after the first year, it would've been a fight to get the new choice's appointment confirmed, especially someone less "centrist" than Garland.
Honestly, I am not buying this. Unfortunately, Biden is the reason we have trump again. The buck stopped at his desk. He could have acted early on & replaced him & didn't. He let us down in the thing that mattered most & here we are. I'm afraid it's all been an elaborate, deceptive dance.
I don't know about the "deceptive dance" part but it may have been Biden's need for appearances and following norms and all that goody good stuff Ds like to do. But certainly, he should have shook himself out of that fantasy and fired Garland.
Biden picked Garland before Jan 6th and announced his pick on January 7th. It wasn't obvious he wasn't up to the job. His record before that was one who was very careful and thoughtful. It was a huge, awful mistake, but Biden couldn't have known at that point.
Absolutely the single worst decision...and a BIG one...of this administration. And then, when MG didn't vigorously investigate those who led the January 6th insurrection (Congress?!? SCOTUS)...and it was obvious pretty quickly...Joe should have replaced him...regardless of the uproar!
It will be Biden's legacy not to have
- put Trump behind bars,
- broken up the Heritage Foundation,
- regulated SM,
- tied the public contracts with Musk, Bezos & Co. to conditions and clearing.
He thought that if he stimulated the economy, the fascists and oligarchs would simply disappear.
Garland was a poor choice because everything that made him a great choice for SCOTUS is the exact opposite of the personality dynamic needed for the AG. Gardners & Firemen both use hoses but the job skill & risk aversion & applied use are very different. Garland is a Gardener, AG is a Fireman.
You can point a finger at SCOTUS or Cannon, but if you're AG and you get no convictions, NOTHING after what Trump did, you failed. You failed the nation. Everything else is secondary.
How exactly can Garland stop SCOTUS from delaying all of trump's trials for 10 months? Without that delay, he'd have 2 convictions by now and wouldn't be president
He might still be President. That's the crazy thing. He could have run from prison & idiots still would have voted for him. Even after his first conviction their take was political prosecution, not no one is above the law.
If trump had been convicted in the documents theft case and the j6 case, it would have been the end. Both of those cases carried essential life sentences for major, major crimes against the country.
IDK Americans voted for a convicted fraud & rapist, I don't think any bridge would have been too far. IMO the only chance we had for justice was after the election. Before & during he was still useful to SCOTUS & Republicans. Unfortunately, not enough ppl cared that he'd never be held to account.
I feel ya. Americans made the choice, but just barely. He won by....1.5%. Those two specific convictions and potential sentences might have made the difference, even for the greasy turd.
He appointed Special Counsel Nov 18, 2022, almost 2 years after the Jan 6 attack. That delay set up all the subsequent timetables to accomodate the delay strategy.
He would do anything to avoid prison. That meant he would run again if necessary to conduct the strategy he ultimately did...that of the Biden DOJ "weaponized against him" & he had a decent chance to win with Biden's approval rating always in the toilet and his inability to communicate effectively.
Smith asked SCOTUS to take up immunity, they declined. Only after the lower court ruled against trump did SCOTUS take up immunity and then sat on it until the last possible minute.
Why hasn't Garland ever gone after billionaires and politicians who own guns and admittedly do drugs? Only Biden's son who is a private citizen. DOJ is totally corrupt.
Soooo, Biden let himself and our whole country become victims of a bad pick in Garland. Seems weak, nonsensical, unconscionable. He let the processes of justice halt in the face of obvious danger of the incoming admin.
Why. That is a perilous mistake he could have righted.
Joe Biden biggest political mistake was the appointment of Merrick Garland as attorney general. His presidency will be defined by this if our democracy go downhill during the next four years. Donald Trump should have been in prison, not allowed to run for president again.
I've always thought Biden came in like Obama with the "look forward" train of thought, thinking trump would go away on his own. The J6 commission put all the crimes on display so they had no choice but to do something. Too bad that something was foot dragging for show.
We were in a period in history that was not normal and needed someone with courage. We didn't need an AG who was afraid of making the right and tough decisions due to bipartisanship. The reach across the aisle crap the old timer Dem's swear by is long gone and we the people are gonna pay dearly.
We all saw Jan 6th.
TFG incited an insurrection
He should have been impeached.
He should have been arrested the day he left office.
Why wasn't he?
Who wants him in office?
Garland had one task, save the American people from the aspiring dictator by holding him accountable for the Jan 6 Capitol Hill Putsch and the other attempts to overthrow the election leading up to it.
Biden scored a unicorn win with a whole lot of help in 2020, and completely misunderstood what had happened. Should have kept (or actually understood) his promise to be a transitional president. His presidency was largely a disaster
On Threads yesterday, I made a statement politely challenging Joe Biden for the nomination of Garland and his tolerance of inaction by Garland. I was told that I am “clueless” and “delusional” for suggesting that President Biden could have done better and more. Today, Biden agrees with me. Magical.
He could have offered him a juicy ambassador’s position to leave.
I pegged him as a disaster when he uttered the “we want to look forward not backward” canard (Hint: all crimes are committed in the past)
and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING abt Trump’s UKR extortion, and the 10 OoJ cases Mueller had laid out
What I don’t understand is, we the people saw what was happening 2 full years ago. How could Biden not see that? He had plenty of time to fire Garland. Why didn’t he? How is it that we, that are so misinformed, as say our President, seem to have more foresight. Nothing makes sense anymore.
Comments
Big mistake to appoint a Maga to run Biden's DOJ.
The GOP hierarchy in 2015 to 2016
Senate in first impeachment
Senate in second impeachment
DOJ under Garland
Federal district court in Florida
Supreme Court
Many chances to stop him, but those with power were too afraid to act.
You never fire anyone. Garland was placed by the Democrats to make up for Obama’s failure to fight to get him on the court. Biden should have made the rolling coup a priority but again failed because he too thought he was a judge and not a politician with absolute power
Far from the only one.
And far from the only reason why Democrats are hemorrhaging support.
They assume, wrongly, that they fight with the law on their side.
Republicans don't care about laws. Unless it affects them.
Republicans lie, steal, and cheat to win.
The GOP made a mistake when they rejected his Supreme Court nomination.
No presidential interference to the DOJ.
Peaceful handover to monsters.
It’s the righteous rules as they were.
He’s still saying,“That’s what we do in a democracy.”
I'm not quite convinced about Jack yet. I want to see his report first.
I feel like he should have brought the documents case in DC instead of Florida. That was a mistake. Too many judicial ass kissers in FL.
If everything else didn't sink Trump, why would this?
Lots of Americans really are just that fickle and short-sighted.
If "he who hesitates
is lost" was a person...
In the same conversation, Biden stated, “Ya know, I’m starting to think Putin’s not such a great guy. No joke. I’m serious.”
Yeah bullshit Garland
Deriliction of duty.
Mitch & Merrick.. they are responsible for this.
Police reform
Student debt relieve
Economy for all
Rich pay fair taxes
What we got:
The biggest slush fund in American history for construction conglomerates
A shit ton of DEI promotions
Cowardly, yes, but most definitely, COMPLICIT.
Running out the clock in such a pivotal situation for a country doesn’t happen by accident.
https://bsky.app/profile/jabbanobadda.bsky.social/post/3ldyej6t3y224
Like that post.
@weissmann11.bsky.social
@profmmurray.bsky.social
@joycevance.bsky.social
Prof. Lawrence Tribe (Garland's law professor)
etc.
SCOTUS wasn't even in the picture then.
Republicans: Look at these fools, thinking we’re going to compromise. Have we ever?
🤔
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/02/biden-cannot-fire-usps-louis-dejoy.html
AG at this late date in his term? Do you think the Senate will confirm the appointment the next day?
Absolutely the worst Biden Cabinet pick. Disastrous, frankly.
- put Trump behind bars,
- broken up the Heritage Foundation,
- regulated SM,
- tied the public contracts with Musk, Bezos & Co. to conditions and clearing.
He thought that if he stimulated the economy, the fascists and oligarchs would simply disappear.
WHY DIDN'T BIDEN FIRE HIM ?
Why. That is a perilous mistake he could have righted.
TFG incited an insurrection
He should have been impeached.
He should have been arrested the day he left office.
Why wasn't he?
Who wants him in office?
Soon time for the memory care unit Kay Granger is in.
I pegged him as a disaster when he uttered the “we want to look forward not backward” canard (Hint: all crimes are committed in the past)
and did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING abt Trump’s UKR extortion, and the 10 OoJ cases Mueller had laid out