Here’s why 'criticisms' of Merrick Garland over Trump DC trial delay are 'misplaced': legal expert

06 March 2024

After the US Supreme Court agreed to hear Donald Trump's claim of absolute immunity from federal prosecution next month, the March 4 start date for the ex-president's DC election interference trial was rescheduled to an unknown date.

In a Wednesday, March 6 op-ed for MSNBC, legal and national security journalist Marcy Wheeler draws attention to the fact that many have specifically criticized Attorney General Merrick Garland for the trial delay. She argues that the criticism is "unwarranted."

She writes, "Garland’s record as attorney general is far from flawless," and "Naysayers will complain that we all saw" Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 election "in public, and they’re right. But behind every one of those public acts lies a chain of evidence without which Trump would win the case, the hunt for which started well before Smith came along."

Wheeler notes:

Those often ignored early moves against Trump’s co-conspirators — and other investigative developments, such as the purported cooperation of Jan. 6 defendant Brandon Straka, investigative steps implicating Roger Stone, and the prosecution of Alex Jones’ sidekick— go unmentioned in reports that claim Garland delayed the investigation. For good reason: Most happened where reporters and pundits weren’t looking.

But the popular narratives attributing delay to Garland also ignore several factors that did take time.

The legal writer emphasizes, "The delays created by Covid, use of encryption, attorney-client and executive privilege claims were unavoidable, even for the most obvious evidence." The legal writer points to Trump's Jan. 6, 2021 tweet saying, "Mike Pence didn’t have the courage." Though the tweet "was right there in public," Wheeler emphasizes "to present that in court first required the exploitation of at least two phones, nine months of fights over executive privilege, a 23-day stall from Twitter and two sets of interviews with at least eight different top aides."

Wheeler adds:

Plus, investigating Trump was like investigating a very corrupt law firm. According to a filingfrom Jack Smith, “at least 25 witnesses withheld information, communications, and documents based on assertions of the attorney-client privilege under circumstances where the privilege holder appears to be the defendant or his 2020 presidential campaign.” Some of these witnesses are obvious — and central to the plot to steal the election: Giuliani, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro were all described as co-conspirators. Several lawyers worked for Giuliani — people such as Christina Bobb and Jenna Ellis. Others worked for the campaign, or participated in state-level conspiracies or lawsuits.

Wheeler insists that following the US Supreme Court's "delayed consideration" of the former president's immunity argument until April, the "criticism" from progressives to not only the high court, but also Garland — instead of SCOTUS justices like Clarence Thomas — are simply "misplaced."

Wheeler's full op-ed can be read at this link.

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