Letters to the Editor: Merrick Garland’s caution with Trump is inviting disaster
To the editor: Merrick Garland is the wrong attorney general for our time. (“Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland vows to hold Jan. 6 insurrectionists to account,” Jan. 5)
Ours is not an ordinary time. If there was any doubt about it before, former President Trump’s attempts at overturning the election, culminating in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, should have put an end to it.
The insurrection was not an isolated incident. Those events are not just behind us; they’re also in front of us. Ignoring that reality only invites disaster.
Right-wing extremists are no longer in the shadows. Some sit in Congress, and they are already trying to steal the next presidential election. The refusal of former Trump aides to cooperate with the House committee investigating Jan. 6 is part of this conspiracy, and not holding them or the former president accountable further emboldens them to continue their attack on democracy.
Failing to charge the coup plotters demonstrates to the world that the assurance “no one is above the law in America” is meaningless. The former president’s supporters will try again, and next time we may not be so lucky.
Now is not the time to look forward. We cannot do that unless we look back at what led to the insurrection and hold the culprits accountable. We need an attorney general who understands that and brings the culprits to justice.
So far, Garland how shown himself unable to meet the biggest challenge of our time.
Sako Sefiani, Glendale
..
To the editor: Trump should either publicly concede the 2020 election or face indictment and prosecution for seditious conspiracy under federal law cited by noted constitutional experts, including Harvard professor Laurence Tribe.
Garland said: “Most important, we follow the facts, not an agenda or an assumption. The facts tell us where to go next.”
Trump’s adherence to the Big Lie is a national security risk. Time is running out. Garland should immediately impanel a grand jury to examine all of the facts and evidence collected by the Department of Justice and present the case for seditious conspiracy to the American people.
The rule of law must prevail. Otherwise Trump will continue his conspiracy through 2024.
Craig Simmons, Northridge
..
To the editor: If Trump can claim vindication after being investigated by a Justice Department special counsel and twice escaping impeachment, how do we think we could ever find 12 people on a jury who would convict him?
With millions for his defense, the only ones to benefit from bringing charges against our former president will be a group of lucky lawyers.
He warned us in 2016: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?”
Clay Wells, Newport Beach
