Yeah! The Department of Justice FINALLY was able to release Jack Smith’s report on Trump’s attempted coup d’etat and, I have to say, I’m planning to read every page of it. However, as President Biden’s term in office winds down we’re seeing another example of what I believe will be remembered as a failed tenure as Attorney General by Merrick Garland. And, I have to add, he definitely means well and seems to go well beyond any expectations of showing “fairness.” The problem is, for the past FOUR years he’s been dealing with Donald Trump who I consider to be a wannabe mob boss. The two have obviously been playing from different rule books.

At this point, one more thing I have to add: I’ve been writing here since around 2008 about how the republicans and democrats have, for years, been playing by different “rule books.” I believe this is why Trump is so embraced by the republican faithful. He is willing to LIE about everything. He can look his adoring fans straight in their faces and spin one “yarn” after another without the slightest “give away” from his expression. Trump is the most prolific LIAR I’ve ever seen in my lifetime who has managed to show success in national politics where LYING is considered routine by many. And, it’s not even close.

So, why my frustration with Mr. Garland? Well, if you’ve been reading any of my rants over the past four years you know I figured out early on in Garland’s tenure he was unwilling to even INVESTIGATE Trump for his attempted coup. The excuse? (maybe?) There were so many of the minions to prosecute – the DOJ had never had a CRIMINAL proceeding with so many (alleged) criminals. Two cases of Seditious Conspiracy with members of the “Oathkeepers” (the most ridiculous name I can imagine – these were a group of former members of our military) and the “Proud Boys” (I’m still trying to figure out what they could possibly be “proud” of) – these are the most egregious crimes on the books – and every one of them is expecting to be pardoned by Trump. (Do you believe as I do Trump may have an important reason to pardon these thugs? Like maybe they have a lot to say if he doesn’t?)

I’ve stated here several times Garland didn’t want to investigate Trump because it would be divisive – and, of course he was correct. The problem is he waited until the Select Committee on January 6th published their report and held public meetings which made Trump’s (alleged) guilt seem obvious to even begin the process. He was two years late. As a former Appeals Court Judge Mr. Garland certainly should have known about all the “tricks” Trump’s legal team would pull in order to stall the proceedings – although, I believe no one but the judges Trump appointed to the SCOTUS understood how his hair brained “absolute immunity” claim would be the “vehicle” which would give the court their chance to “gum up” the proceedings making certain “we the people” wouldn’t find out whether or not a jury would agree with Smith’s indictment before the election.

In a sense you could see how Mr. Garland was correct from the standpoint some suggest it was the prosecutions of Trump which spurred on many in his base. However, to me, the real problem was the TWO years wasted while the A.G. dragged his feet. Had the investigation started when it should have Trump would have faced accountability for his (alleged) CRIMES well before the 2024 election. Even the SCOTUS wouldn’t have been able to stall it out – and, Judge Aileen Cannon’s ridiculous reasoning for throwing out the Classified Documents case would have been overturned by the 11th circuit Court of Appeals. (It reversed her three times after all) – and, OBTW – I believe Judge Cannon will be appointed to the SCOTUS by Trump as soon as there’s an opening.

Attorney General Garland has, as I’m typing this, only a few days left in office – technically 6 if you count the weekend. Here’s another source of my frustration with him – and that’s the other Smith report which likely will never see the light of day (I pray that I’m wrong). It’s held up because, apparently, when Judge Cannon dismissed the case the dismissal didn’t apply to Trump’s minions who were charged as co-conspirators in the scheme to hide the STOLEN documents from the Justice Department. The Judge blocked the release of Mr. Smith’s report on this case because of the pending charges against these two lackeys. (I could look up their names, but I’ll leave that to you) As opposed to dismissing the charges against them so the report could be made public, it appears that’s NOT going to happen (until, of course, Trump – LIES – as he’s taking the oath of office with his “fingers crossed” – an oath he considers a joke).

This is classic Merrick Garland playing by the book – or, as the saying goes he’s playing checkers while Trump and the republicans are playing three dimensional chess. Another possibility here is Joe Biden could intervene. He could pardon the two defendants and order the report made public. As much as I consider Biden a great president, I believe he’s also too much “by the book” to do this – despite the importance of “we the people” seeing the report which was financed by our tax dollars. Keep in mind, there were something like eleven folders labled “Classified Top Secret” which were empty. Did Smith figure out where the documents from those folders went – or even what they were? “We the people” SHOULD know the truth in this regard. Also, did Trump share any of the Top Secret messages with any of our adversaries? (And, of course, I’m thinking mainly of Vladimir Putin and Xi jinping)

For heaven’s sake, the Classified documents report regarding the investigation of Joe Biden was published as was the transcript of his interview with the special counsel. I mean, Trump didn’t sit for an interview as he was contemptuously trying to keep the documents and hiding their existence from the DOJ. Hell, the republicans in the House even attempted to get the audio from which the transcript was scribed. As the saying goes “come on man!”

Merrick Garland will be retiring to the history books after this week and my guess is his term won’t be looked upon favorably. (this will be “bi-partisan) No question he’s an honorable man – and, I admire that. However, the times called for someone who understood how grave the “moment” was/is for our democratic republic. The voters have a right/obligation to choose our leaders, but the TRUTH about them should not be hidden from the public due to timid occupants of our most cherished institutions. No doubt Mr. Garland’s intention was to restore respect for maybe the most important institution in our government, the Justice Department, but the end result is it will now crater into an even worse place than where it was when he took office.

Of course, the Justice Department (which includes the FBI) should be non-partisan. It WASN’T during Trump’s first term, but compared to his second term, I’m predicting the first term will appear to be like the ideal. The list of people publicly known who are going to be leading the DOJ and the FBI is almost SHOCKING. The only reason it isn’t, to me, is because Trump is doing exactly what I anticipated, especially after reading “Project 2025” – a document which hasn’t been mentioned in the public domain much since the election, but which will end up being the final “roadmap” into the republican party turning America into a fascist nation. (What Karl Rove called the “permanent republican majority”) And, trust me, those who put that plan together are EXPECTING Trump to follow it. Plus, the SCOTUS seems to be on board with the plan as well. To me, the day of the inauguration will be maybe the saddest day, as an American citizen who enlisted in the Marines in 1967 (Only to be medically discharged due to a football injury to my knee – and, I didn’t claim to have “bone spurs”), in my lifetime.

Yes, the voters have spoken, but the methods used by the republicans to (trick) convince many of them to vote for Trump will always gnaw at my gut. For example, I’m presently reading a book focused on how social media has been a large part of the assault on “truth” in our political discourse. Platforms like Facebook, Xwitter, YouTube, and Instagram (full disclosure, I don’t use them – well, I do listen to classical guitar music on YouTube) set their algorithms to almost ignore “truth” but, instead focus on whatever draws in users to log in more often and when there to spend more “screen time” on the platform. Misinformation and disinformation are staples of these platforms.

It’s gotten to the point where the tech BILLIONAIRES are lining up next to Trump claiming they believe his next administration is going to be more mellow than the first one. It appears they are almost as removed from “truth” as Trump. The obvious example is Elon Musk who spent over a QUARTER BILLION dollars and actively used his social media platform to help (along with Putin, MBS, Netanyahu and others) get Trump elected. Their interest in MONEY exceeds their interest in preserving America’s democratic republic. Many of Trump’s supporters despise “democracy” but, I can only speculate on Trump’s BILLIONAIRES. What they seem to despise is TAXES.

Musk, recently proved what incredible means he would use to LIE about his own “prowess.” My son is an expert “gamer” and the other day he came to me and showed me (someone who’s never gotten into video games) how Musk was LYING about being in the top TWENTY of gamers in the U.S. (world?) – he was on the Joe Rogan podcast claiming he was in the top twenty in the (world?) in a very popular game. My son then showed me how ABSURD this was and two “gamers” who really are among the world’s best methodically proved that Musk was a LIAR (who, other than someone desperate for attention, would LIE in a public setting about video games?). They showed that his claims were absurd and he (again, I don’t understand all this) had a “surrogate” playing for him using his account.

Now, I’m no fan of Musk – at one time I wanted to be as I’m someone who’s been driving an electric car for over 10 years and has a solar “power plant” on the roof of my property – but, stooping to LIE about video games when you’re trying to be America’s “shadow president?” That seems STUPID to me, but I’ve seen the “receipts.” There’s also Mark Zuckerberg who’s been apologizing for all the garbage that permeates his platform (much of it from the Russians and other foreign bad “actors”) for years – to Congress, only to recently throw in the towel and say Facebook will now try to be like Xwitter in moderating content – which means NOT moderating content.

But, as usual with republicans, there’s always more. Jeff Bezos and Patrick Soon-Shiong are in the process of taking the knee to Trump and making the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times now two major publications which can’t be trusted – along with 90% of the rest of America’s “mainstream media.” Add to that, and this one worries me a lot, Sam Altman, the CEO of “Open AI” which publishes “ChatGBT” has also taken the “knee” to Trump. My son, mentioned above, is periodically taking university classes and has told me, of late, the professors are requiring written tests to be taken in class with the writing done “by hand.” Can’t use a laptop. Why? Because so many students are CHEATING by using AI to do their writing. Yikes!

To me, that’s not the scariest part. I’ve worried since I first started to get an (elementary) understanding of AI about how it could be used nefariously in the political world – by the people who believe “the end justifies the means” – a tactic which I believe is high in the “rulebook” of republicans. (Naturally, this type of CHEATING is now available to just about anyone – that means “bipartisan”) Those involved in the development of AI include Altman, Musk, Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Microsoft, Apple, and just about any entity that’s integrally involved in the “tech revolution.” The end objective: More tech, less people – when it comes to the workforce. And, likely less available trustworthy information for the rest of us.

This rant has evolved to this point because I see all these “tech gurus” migrating toward Trump as a consequence of AG Garland and the DOJ dragging their feet in the prosecution of the alleged CRIMES of Donald Trump. Keeping in mind, several of his surrogates were also likely to, ultimately, have been indicted had Mr. Smith been able to bring Trump’s CRIMINAL allegations to trial. I believe there were SIX “unindicted co-conspirators” in the case emanating from the attempted coup. (And, I believe, a large number of others involved in the “fake electors” scheme) The Garland Justice department, anyway you “slice” it, will be remembered as enabling the re-election of Trump. The least Mr. Garland can do for “we the people” is find a way to get the Stolen documents report made public.

Final Thought: When I’m honest with myself, I’m tired of writing about Trump. This next “go round” is going to be much more absurd than the first one. Trump is the master at getting his “enemies” to end up “chasing their own tails” as they attempt to report on what he and his administration is up to. Trust me, any claims about his violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution, this time, will won’t even generate a yawn. His LYING of course is already “baked in” and will likely be WORSE. The DAMAGE he will do to our cherished institutions and to our “rule of law” and to our relationship with our current allies is likely unimaginable. And, to the process of “free and fair elections?” As I listen to democrats and progressive pundits I think many of them feel like it’s going to be “business as usual.” Well, I certainly hope they’re correct.