Another Justice Department Reality Check:
Again, The Truth About the Two-Tier Justice System (Or, Why It Is Not "Rigged" Against Republicans)
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So much to discuss this week. The heat dome that provides a sign of things to come. The mass shooting in Arkansas. The debate on how the Comstock Act could be used to ban abortion nationwide. The executive action on immigration, and Republican’s continuing refusal to address the border security issue. The Thomas-Alito Supreme Court ethics problems we continue to see this week. Roger Stone’s declaration that Trump will indeed contest the election if he loses again. Even Trump’s life advice on sharks and electrocution.
But, above and beyond that, I do have to comment on one really big, overarching issue: the absurd claim that the Justice Department is rigged against Trump. Does that claim really make any sense, based on what we have all seen?
It just does not make sense to have a full-blown conspiracy against Republicans taking place the way it has. Not when people like Democratic Congressman TJ Cox ran into legal trouble. And when the DOJ was going after Andrew Gillum, the 2018 Democratic candidate for governor of Florida (who got lucky with a jury acquittal, and the dropping of other charges by the agency shortly thereafter).
How insane is it to think that it helps Biden—or anyone in the Democratic Party—when Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan is being prosecuted right now by law enforcement? It is beyond imagining why his “rigged” DOJ would cause headaches for Senate Democrats with an indictment of Bob Menendez (whose seat was up in 2024 anyways), or House Democrats with Congressman Henry Cuellar. Remember: every House seat counts. Why would a Biden-directed “corrupt” DOJ jeopardize Democratic control of the House?
As if Republicans were the victims of a biased judicial system. Do Republican politicians (and Trump himself) really think they are fooling anyone when all of this runs contrary to their bogus claims? By the way, if the aim of the conspiracy is to keep Trump out of office, how does the prosecution and conviction of Hunter Biden, the President’s only surviving son, fit into that? If the President directly interferes in the justice system all the time, don’t you think he would have stepped in to keep his son from experiencing that kind of deeply personal strain?
Yet he did not. Because the President respects our justice system, and he loves his son. David Sheff said it best:“[f]or President Biden, as for me and others in our straits, the fact that Hunter is alive and dealing with this problem (apparently one day at a time, apparently without relapsing) may be all that matters.”
What about Trump? Honestly, like I said in my last post, wealthy businessmen like him have so many privileged in this justice system when compared to poorer people. Time and time again, Trump is given the benefit of the doubt, and then some. If anything, it looks more like Trump has rigged the DOJ in his favor. Although maybe this is just my view and that of several legal scholars.
Would the US Supreme Court delay the ruling on his immunity case if the defendant’s name was not Donald Trump? Would they have done this if the case was about a different president? Or a different official in a different administration? That is way more plausible in a conservative supermajority court where Trump appointed 3 of the justices himself, and where 2 others (Alito, Thomas) have close ties to or sympathy towards the January 6 coup-plotters and insurrectionists.
In that kind of court, Trump gets much more leeway. Indeed, it is much fairer to claim that the Supreme Court—and not President Biden—has gotten itself involved in judicial and election interference as a result of their blatant delay tactics.
And let’s not forget about Aileen Cannon, the Trump-appointed Florida judge in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Her conduct has raised significant questions, as legal scholars like former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb could tell you from top-to-bottom many times over. Her competence has been questioned repeatedly, as has her ability to be impartial based upon her own delay tactics. Her stunning refusal to dismiss long-shot Trump motions without a hearing is helping Trump run out the clock on this case before the November election. It is insane.
Think about it another way: if this was not a former President, and instead some random federal employee, would Cannon have been so willing to take the time to hold a hearing on every motion? Or does this favoritism just apply to the same President who just so happened to appoint her to the courts in the first place? Not to mention that, if Trump wins reelection, she is one of the many potential contenders to replace Alito or Thomas on the US Supreme Court, as has been reported in recent days.
That was why two fellow federal judges, not Special Counsel Jack Smith or AG Merrick Garland, asked Cannon to recuse herself from this case from the very beginning. Cannon ignored such recommendations. Why?
Beyond the hypotheticals, one thing does seem very clear: if President Biden was orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the system against Trump, he is doing a God awful job at it. And I think that is a good thing we should all celebrate. Our judicial system does not always work perfectly, but it does not favor one party over another.
Shame on the Republican politicians who are attempting to discredit our justice system—just like they are trying to discredit our election system and our democracy as a whole.