Merrick Garland . . . .

[Fiendish Thingy]

23. Grief induced nonsense- here's a reality check:

https://www.emptywheel.net/2024/11/06/trump-sold-grievance-and-america-liked-what-he-was-selling/

Once Trump got everyone hooked on his grievance drug, Merrick Garland was never going to make a difference.

I have tried, over and over, to explain how the investigation into Trump and his co-conspirators proceeded. More recently, I’ve explained how you couldn’t have charged Trump with insurrection — the only thing that would have disqualified him from running — until after May 2023, and had Jack Smith done so, it would have ended up exactly where we are here, with John Roberts delaying everything until after the election.

No effort to explain the process — the two years of exploiting phones, the months of January 6 Committee delay, the ten months of privilege fights, the month Elon Musk stole, or the eight months John Roberts bought Trump — none of that has mattered, of course. People needed an explanation for their own helplessness and Merrick Garland was the sparkle pony they hoped would save them.

But nothing Merrick Garland would have done would have mattered anyway.

Much, much more at link, with additional links to fact (as opposed to emotion) based evidence detailing how no amount of speed or aggressiveness on Garland’s part would have made any difference in the election because of Trump’s victim persona and the privilege obstacles and SCOTUS interference that would have happened on any timeline.

Flame away, I don’t care, I remain firmly a principled member of the reality based community.