The moral arc needs patience and more bending

Piercing the Invincibility of the Blabberpuss requires thought and a big next step

Yes, everyone’s sick of the long wait for the most important legal actions against the criminally & cognitively bizarre ex-president and his crime partners. But with so many involved and so many communications to track to build a thorough case (always harder when folks conspire, as conspiracy & racketeering charges require a methodology that has to be very precise to convince) I expected a longer than normal wait.

Trump’s use of at least 30 attorneys since the Nov 2020 vote hasn’t proven successful in blocking most depositions and testimony, but their Plan B is to delay the indictments and trials through 2024 as he hopes to regain office and defund every govt agency involved, kill the investigations/prosecutions and pardon all his supporters. Hell, he wouldn’t hesitate to declare martial law and suspend the Constitution, as he’s already indicated he believes in suspending it to save his ass.

But all the investigators and prosecutors are well aware of what he’s up to. So are the judges issuing the rulings permitting access to the conversations Trump was having before and after his election defeat.

Also, at the DOJ level it made perfect sense to let the Jan6 Committee interview hundreds of witnesses and review multiple sources of evidence first. It saves money and time to avoid replicating the searches down multiple trails. And while that was ongoing, the fresh classified document crimes occurred, providing fresh challenges for the DOJ.

When our current president and other former officials like ex-VP Pence began a full review of their own stored files, that further complicated things. With our polarized public, Trump’s defenders tried to say they all knowingly broke the same law and either they all get prosecuted or all get exonerated, despite the fact that only Trump was engaged in an active coverup. That’s obstruction of justice, which Biden and Pence haven’t done.

BUT, public perception is important. As any future jury is seated, prosecutors don’t want to deal with jury pools full of people thinking Trump’s being singled out unfairly.

When Trump posted to his followers last week he was about to get arrested in Manhattan, he was stage managing for a reason. He needed to raise more funds, he needed to motivate his supporters to show up for his campaign rallies, and he was trying to dominate the perception zone with his witch hunt cries.

Look what happened yesterday:

NYC DA Bragg is a well-seasoned and adept lawyer, aware the NYC court would face a media circus if an indictment was forthcoming. He was quick to recognize that Trump’s games would further complicate the necessary security protocols so he’s taken proper steps to defuse the near term issue. Now the grand jury decision’s set back to late April.

I’ve long said that with multiple investigations occurring in at least 3 locations, there’d be complications in scheduling that have to be avoided so Trump can’t drag things out past Labor Day 2024. Which means it’s highly likely that all the prosecutors have to communicate with each other about that.

This time, Trump’s post immediately caused Rep Jim Jordan to demand that DA Bragg come to DC to determine if federal funds were being used and what communications were occurring between Bragg and the DOJ. He was ready to make the case that the ‘witches’ were busy conspiring to create a toxic brew of socialism, liberalism and communism with drag queens & pedophiles mixed in. Bragg was quick to point out that Jordan was overstepping his authority and trying to intimidate him to actively obstruct justice. Smart and accurate.

If communications have occurred between prosecutors elsewhere, it’s completely legal, necessary and understandable. It’s also understandable if they’ve contacted the investigators and staff of the Jan6 committee in pursuit of evidence already collected. That’s normal and legal. Rep Jordan knows that. He’s trying to play 2D Checkers with Bragg, who’s playing 4D Chess.

I’m as eager to get the indictments underway as most of the country is. The cries for accountability and the comparisons to what usually occurs when police are attacked and people die are understandable. As is the despair about the pace.

But all the complaints directed at Merrick Garland won’t hasten that pace. He’s not the sort to misuse the DOJ for political reasons yet is fully aware of the swirl of political winds that can’t be avoided. This is an unprecedented case but one not instigated by the Attorney General nor the President. It’s caused by the multiple crimes the ex-president has committed.

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But one thing I didn’t consider before was the careful advice of a conservative jurist about the multiple trials. He thinks the biggest issue trial should go first: the DOJ case about January 6th. He doesn’t go into the details of why because he understands the self-discipline jurists have to practice, but the point came through to me loud and clear.

See the short article here. (Note: if you run into what looks like a paywall just refuse to subscribe and it will take you direct to the newsletter article)

Judge Luttig is looking at the biggest picture of all: the survival of our democracy that’s been under increasing threat for the past 6 years. The speed of prosecutions is mostly irrelevant at this late stage of multiple investigations. What’s most important is that they all be successful and the most essential success has to be the DOJ one.

That doesn’t mean next month’s defamation case scheduled for late April can’t proceed as that’s a civil matter begun by a private citizen. E. Jean Carroll. But consider the two others he specifically mentioned that should be moved back.

If Bragg goes first with the hush money trial, Trump will spin it as something akin to Bill Clinton’s impeachment for lying about consensual sex. Follow it with the stolen documents case and Trump’s spin is already known: ‘everyone does it’. Even though the majority of the country can see the distinctions between ‘intent’ and accidental and the difference between a voluntary public reveal and an 18 month coverup.

But after the Russian collusion case was spun out by the machinations of Trump’s AG, providing added cover to Republican senators to vote against a conviction in his first impeachment trial, Trump’s been touting that as ‘proof’ that he’s innocent. That wasn’t what the Mueller report said. It also didn’t say that President Obama or Secretary of State Clinton targeted him or did anything illegal. In fact, when the investigation was described to Obama before the 2016 election, he notified Trump that some members of his campaign staff and his announced appointments may have been compromised.

Since then, missteps made by FBI staff didn’t help. Two agents having an affair conveyed their dislike of Trump to each other. Trump used that to claim the entire agency was corrupt. He fired one FBI guy the day before his retirement vested after 20 years of service. He fired the FBI Director after Director Comey refused to say he’d steer the investigation away from Trump. Then another agent used misinformation to get a FISA warrant. Trump spun that as more ‘proof’ that the Deep State had overthrown the laws because they were all radical liberals bent on his demise. (Note: the FBI has only had Republican directors.)

Trump more recently got really pissed when someone leaked a video of him micromanaging a video shoot of a statement he was preparing in which he tossed out a word he was struggling to pronounce and wanted the exact right angle for him to pose in. Showing that video revealed the degree he stages things to come across as strong and self assured, which is part of his shtick: ‘Attack attack attack and never display a weakness.’ Wholly unaware that his multiple weaknesses are regularly seen.

Anyone observing him over time understands that his greatest strengths aren’t in business or governing. He’s an expert beggar, an expert tax avoider and money launderer, and he’s able to convince several million by stage managing his propaganda.

But I digress.

Luttig’s hoping the prosecutors rearrange the order of indictments and trials to avoid the shit Trump is spreading that seeks to destroy the public trust in voting, the public trust in our justice system and to drive the polarization of our public off the cliff. If he could fit the public in a Tesla, he coulda done it quicker.

So yeah, I agree with Judge Luttig. The public can snicker that Trump paid a world record sum to get laid for the time being, but move that indictment to the backburner long enough to give the DOJ first crack at him. Most of the country was horrified by lots of the assaults numerous cameras caught and try as Trump and his remora have sought, they’ve failed to spin January 6 away.

So hit him with the best shot first, with the crimes containing the longest sentences. Once that’s achieved, as a convicted felon, the other dominoes will fall more easily with his cloak of invincibility shattered.

He won’t be the first politician convicted, just the first US president to achieve that fresh precedent. Judge Luttig is aware that managing perceptions is critical in this lengthy process and clearly thinks - as I do - that this country is worth saving.

I don’t know that the Georgia prosecution needs to wait for the DOJ one (as Luttig didn’t mention that one and it covers some of the same bigger crimes on a smaller scale). But yeah, I hope the prosecutors hear his advice and pay heed.

Sure, there’s still many a flaw in our governance and lots of awful history that came before this twisted guy arrived. But first things first here.

It’s not easy to accept being patient still. It might help to recall the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” It’s vague but useful as this polarized country can’t always agree on what justice even is. I’m certain it’s reassuring but it requires time and human effort to cut through the bullshit and keep on bending it that way.

So many have committed themselves to it throughout our lives to where our spines are also bent. But our morality remains true.

And after this mob boss gets put away, there’ll still be work ahead somewhere to make things right. Justice isn’t easy. It’s just necessary.

And ongoing.


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