Merrick Garland had some ‘splainin’ to do — but didn’t
The Washington TimesAug 11, 2022
Facts
- Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thurs. that the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) requested that a judge unseal the FBI warrant to investigate the Mar-a-Lago, Fla. home of former Pres. Trump.
- This is the first DOJ statement on the investigation in three days, with Garland also revealing that he "personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant."
- The motion states that "the public's clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing." The former president can respond and lodge objections, though he said on Thurs. that he will not oppose the release.
- Judge Bruce Reinhart - who signed the Aug. 5 warrant - ordered that Trump's attorneys be notified of the motion and formally respond by 3 pm Friday.
- The unprecedented search of the former president's home has led to significant divide, with Trump and his supporters claiming the raid was politically motivated, and his critics focusing on the potential severity of Trump's legal troubles.
Spin
Republican narrative
Garland's opportunity to explain the actions of the DOJ to the public was ten minutes wasted. America had none of its questions answered, with Garland choosing to speak bureaucratic rhetoric that will once again leave Trump's supporters angry and in demand of a real explanation as to why the former president's home was raided.
Democratic narrative
In just a few short minutes, Garland smoothly dismantled several baseless talking points of Trump and his supporters. By asking a court to unseal the warrant for the Mar-a-Lago search, the ball is in Trump's court to approve the action and show that he truly has nothing to hide. Garland seems to be playing a winning hand - and he's called the former president's bluff.
