Garland Fiddles While Democracy Burns

"JANUARY 6 PANEL POLITELY REQUESTS THAT MERRICK GARLAND DO HIS F--KING JOB"

That's the headline in the latest Vanity Fair article from Bess Levin that expresses the exasperation that tens of millions of Americans feel in varying degrees about the Justice Department's slooooow pace on handling the House Select Committee on January 6's recommendations for prosecutions. Here's Levin's lead graph:

"More than 14 months after the events of January 6, 2021, many Americans are pretty frustrated with the fact that, so far, there appears to be absolutely zero consequences for trying to overthrow the results of a presidential election. That Donald Trump has been spending his days crashing weddings and memorial services, filing frivolous lawsuits, launching ridiculous social media networks, writing unhinged coffee-table books, threatening to run for office in 2024, and, we assume, cheating at golf, makes the people who think he should be in or on his way to prison want to scream. Scream what, you ask? Things like, “How the hell is this guy still a free man?” and “Will he ever be held accountable for anything?” and “I guess plotting coups and inciting insurrections is fine” and “What are you doing Merrick Garland?” and “HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY? AM I THE ONLY ONE AROUND HERE WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE RULES?” And apparently, members of the January 6 committee share those same frustrations!"

Last night, as the Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the full House vote to refer criminal contempt of Congress charges for die-hard Trumpers Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro, several members virtually pleaded with Attorney General Merrick Garland to move their referrals along (it's been about 105 days since a referral was made for Mark Meadows to DOJ, and so far nada). With Federal District Court Judge David Carter saying that the Malignant Loser was "more likely than not" to have committed felonies regarding the plot to overthrow the 2020 elections, it's hard to fathom why Garland is so timid and hesitant to bring charges to a grand jury for indictments. Evidence is obviously not the problem.

(photo: Getty Images / iStock)