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Last night on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow did a deep-dive into how Trump perverted and corrupted the Department of Justice -- and she asked whether there will be accountability for Trump and his political appointees at the DOJ who did his bidding.
The answer depends largely on Merrick Garland, President Biden's nominee for Attorney General. Merrick Garland will decide.
Maddow told of a conversation she had with outgoing Obama officials after the 2016 election who warned that "The most dangerous thing a president could do would be to pervert, corrupt, and weaponize the Department of Justice -- to use the DOJ to hurt the president's enemies and help the presidents friends."
And she gave a partial inventory of Trump's abuses at the Department of Justice that did just that -- pervert, corrupt, and weaponize the DOJ to hurt Trump's enemies and help Trump and his friends:
DOJ lawyers arguing that Trump's financial records and tax returns were off-limits to criminal and civil investigators indefinitely.
Burying a criminal referral relating to Trump's call to Ukraine demanding that if they didn't provide dirt he could use against Joe Biden, they wouldn't get their military aid.
Intervening so that Paul Manafort would not have to go to Rikers Island like normal prisoners while they await charges in New York.
Blocking the execution of a search warrant in a federal investigation or prosecution of Rudy Giuliani -- who the Washington Post reports is being investigated for "foreign lobbying registration violations, destruction or alteration of documents, aiding and abetting federal crimes, and foreign contributions to U.S. candidates."
Retaliating against Michael Cohen by wrongfully imprisoning him as retribution for him writing a book critical of the president.
Using the DOJ to attack his critics and intimidate his enemies, such as bringing cases against Omarosa Manigault Newman, National Security Advisor John Bolton, and a former friend of Melania Trump's when they wrote books critical of Trump.
Dropping cases against Michael Flynn and intervening to reduce the sentence for Roger Stone.
Intervening in the case of hush money payments to Stormy Daniels -- the case where Trump was shown as "Individual 1" -- to shield Trump and others from prosecution.
Pressuring a federal prosecutor in Georgia to take action to promote Trump's false claims of election fraud.
Inciting the deadly insurrection against America's government may be the most violent criminal act Trump committed, but it is just the tip of the iceberg of what must be investigated and prosecuted.
Financial crimes. Public corruption. Conspiracy to defraud the United States. Election law and campaign finance violations. The list goes on. And it must extend to Trump's entire criminal network -- including his political appointees if they used the power of the federal government improperly.
They all must be brought to justice. No accountability means normalization of law breaking.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- The PCCC Team (@BoldProgressive)
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