File this under live and learn. The oft mentioned 60-day rule, the one that decrees that the wheels of justice must stop turning in the last sixty days of an election cycle, so as not to taint the outcome of the election, is an urban myth. Seriously.
There is prosecutorial common sense guidance and certainly there are ethics — at least the Democrats have ethics — but there is no rule. The only ethics that the Republicans have are so few and small that you can wad them all up, insert them in a gnat’s naval, and still have room left over for Ron DeSantis’ heart.
Simply, Merrick Garland is not bound by any rule, but being a man of ethics and desirous of revamping the image of the Department of Justice after Bill Barr’s disastrous turn there, he may decide to take his foot off the gas in the weeks ahead. That would be a mistake. Daily Beast:
It may make him want to adhere to the rule in an effort to avoid being criticized for being political but such adherence could stop him from pursuing potential crimes committed by Trump and his inner circle in a timely fashion when time is of the essence.
For example, the current criminal investigation into potential Espionage Act violations centered around the national defense documents recovered at Mar-a-Lago involves potential ongoing risks to U.S. national security and even possible danger to human sources. Investigating such a dangerous situation should not be put off until after the midterm elections.
Similarly, the efforts to deny legitimate election results and alleged interference with election processes need to be investigated and prosecuted yesterday given that those same illegal actions may be occurring right now and in the aftermath of the midterms. Indeed, all of the evidence uncovered publicly by the Jan. 6 Committee indicate that the threat to the stability of our democratic process has never been greater. It makes no sense to put off criminal investigations into threats to our very election processes until after the next election.
This is why DOJ needs to disavow the mythology of the “60-Day Rule” and simply follow the evidence and law. If they find evidence of criminal wrongdoing that they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt then they should bring the case immediately.
The MAGAs will scream *political motivations* no matter what. That doesn’t matter. What matters is protecting national security, protecting the election process itself, and not losing momentum. What matters is bringing Donald Trump and his corrupt cabal to justice.
The A.G. should. Will he?
No. Let’s follow the Queensbury rules while they beat us with a lead pipe. Good thing soliders don’t follow this stupid bullshit or we wouldn’t have anything to talk about because we’d have no goddamn country. Only rich, upper class democrats are lost in this crap. The other side would cut your throat while you sleep, dump your body somewhere and claim they are innocent.
We are already in that window and DOJ has shown no signs of alowing down. For example, there’s that eemergency appeal.
Of course they wouldn’t want to talk about prosecutorial activity regarding candidates … but the v=criminals themselves appear to be intent on calling attention to their illegal activities and the consequences.