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> Why has it been taking so long? These things take time. > Get someone new and more importantly, independent. The entire point of being a special prosecuto

> Why has it been taking so long? These things take time. > Get someone new and more importantly, independent. The entire point of being a special prosecutor is to have more independence. It is absolutely impossible for Garland to appoint someone perceived as more independent than someone appointed by Barr. If Garland fired Barr's prosecutor from the case and appointed someone else, people would interpret it as interference (reasonably!). > Merrick Garland already has his biased hands on this, he should recuse himself from any involvement in this case. Appointing a special prosecutor is pretty much equivalent. > Can you imagine the outrage if Trumps' AG was appointing special prosecutors to oversee criminal cases of his children? If Trump were president and his children were under criminal investigation, appointing a special prosecutor would be the correct thing to do. There would be outrage if he didn't.

Eumenes 3y ago
[flagged]
- maxbond 3y ago
  The commentary I've heard from prosecutors in the media, I believe from the Lawfare podcast but I can't swear to it, is that this gun charge is so minor it wouldn't normally be charged unless it was in combination with something worth prosecutor's time. (He lied on a piece of paperwork to get the gun about doing drugs. There's no evidence afaik that the gun was used in a crime. It's a federal crime, sure, but that is just not a huge deal.) Engaging in consensual commercial sex is generally not viewed as being worth the time of a federal prosecutor. Same for using drugs. Hunter Biden's influence pedaling business was sketchy and gross, but as far as anyone can tell - not illegal. (Not an endorsement, he seems like a piece of shit.) If I did those things, I would anticipate being in hot water with my local PD. I don't think the federal government would be impressed enough to even pass it on to the local PD. I wouldn't be surprised if I could take a plea deal and do community service, but I'm not a lawyer, who knows. The tax evasion is probably the most serious crime. Maybe you think someone should go to prison for that, I don't really see the value in punishing them over and above getting the taxes paid and maybe banning him from running a company for 5 years or whatever.
dragonwriter 3y ago
This is a response to a flagged & dead sibling comment that, while wrong, I think is worth addressing and doesn't deserve flagging: > Special prosecutor's aren't supposed to work for the government No, that’s literally who they work for. > They are generally retired lawyers or judges. Since the expiration of the law providing for independent counsels in 1999, there have been 7 special counsels appointed under DOJ regulations. 0 have been retired lawyers (all have been active lawyers in private or government practice), 0 have been past (retired or otherwise) judges, and 3 of the 7 have been sitting US Attorneys at the time appointed, and 3 of the 7 were former US Attorneys (the one that was never a US Attorney was a former state AG.)

Eumenes 3y ago

[flagged]

maxbond 3y ago
The commentary I've heard from prosecutors in the media, I believe from the Lawfare podcast but I can't swear to it, is that this gun charge is so minor it wouldn't normally be charged unless it was in combination with something worth prosecutor's time. (He lied on a piece of paperwork to get the gun about doing drugs. There's no evidence afaik that the gun was used in a crime. It's a federal crime, sure, but that is just not a huge deal.) Engaging in consensual commercial sex is generally not viewed as being worth the time of a federal prosecutor. Same for using drugs. Hunter Biden's influence pedaling business was sketchy and gross, but as far as anyone can tell - not illegal. (Not an endorsement, he seems like a piece of shit.) If I did those things, I would anticipate being in hot water with my local PD. I don't think the federal government would be impressed enough to even pass it on to the local PD. I wouldn't be surprised if I could take a plea deal and do community service, but I'm not a lawyer, who knows. The tax evasion is probably the most serious crime. Maybe you think someone should go to prison for that, I don't really see the value in punishing them over and above getting the taxes paid and maybe banning him from running a company for 5 years or whatever.

dragonwriter 3y ago

This is a response to a flagged & dead sibling comment that, while wrong, I think is worth addressing and doesn't deserve flagging: > Special prosecutor's aren't supposed to work for the government No, that’s literally who they work for. > They are generally retired lawyers or judges. Since the expiration of the law providing for independent counsels in 1999, there have been 7 special counsels appointed under DOJ regulations. 0 have been retired lawyers (all have been active lawyers in private or government practice), 0 have been past (retired or otherwise) judges, and 3 of the 7 have been sitting US Attorneys at the time appointed, and 3 of the 7 were former US Attorneys (the one that was never a US Attorney was a former state AG.)