The Simple Truth

 Emptywheel once again takes on the world:

Why do I die on the hill of adhering to reality? I keep getting asked
1) BC when you give up reality you make easy prey for fascists
2) BC when you blame the wrong people you ignore those who deserve blame, like John Roberts
3) BC when you wallow in this shit you choose to direct your anger inaptly

I don’t mean to say Marcy is wrong. But despite the misplaced anger she is countering with facts, anger that makes some people “incandescent” (but still not shedding any light), this whole conversation stumbles in the darkness of its own making.

Merrick Garland couldn’t have begun prosecuting Trump before he was himself appointed AG in 2021. And criminal investigations do not proceed like they do on TeeVee: started and ready for court in 15 minutes, and going to trial within 30 minutes. Among other things, there were privilege hearings over subpoenas for evidence that was presumptively protected. The 5th Amendment and due process/equal protection are things Trump wants to eliminate. Is that alone not enough to show it’s a bad idea to expect accusations to become convictions instanter?

But that’s all a part of Marcy’s argument; and a sound one it is, too. So what’s the endgame of these fantasies? Trump buried beneath the jail and unavailable for public service?

First, there is no bar at law, or in the Constitution, to a convicted felon serving in the office of President. Had Jack Smith put Donald Trump in a federal pen (unlikely, as Trump would have stayed out pending appeals, which would not have been exhausted by Election Day in the most aggressive law enforcement fantasies), Trump would have simply walked out to take the oath of office. 

In fact, Trump WAS convicted. 34 counts of criminal fraud, in New York State. He was not sentenced because he was elected President. He was elected President because that conviction made no evident difference to the electorate at all. 

There’s even a school of thought that the media could have forced Cannon to recuse if they had just reported on her fully. Tell me you don’t know anything about federal judges without telling me…etc, etc., etc.

Glowing white hot at the thought of Merrick Garland is as useful as shouting at clouds. Nothing was changed, because nothing was going to change. It was down to the voters to decide whether a convicted felon should be President, and they decided: “Why the hell not?” Two more felony convictions (well, maybe one. Roberts queered one almost entirely. Trump’s grandchildren would be litigating that one had Trump never won. The other was damned by venue and Aileen Cannon. So “none” was always more likely.)

If you’re gonna blame anybody, blame the people.