Attorney General Garland, Stop Protecting the Trump Regime – Hold Them Accountable!
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Call Script
My name is __________. I am a constituent, and my zip code is _______. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
Short Phone Version:
I voted for Democrats because our nation was founded on the principle that no one is above the law – not even the president. I don't want America to become a land where the politically powerful are granted immunity from the consequences of their crimes and misrule and the wealthy are allowed to loot, cheat, and exploit with impunity. I am deeply disappointed that Attorney General Garland is choosing to turn a blind eye towards Trump-era abuses and crimes while continuing some of the indefensible actions and policies of his predecessor AG Barr such as:
Concealing illegal spying on the phone records of journalists and members of Congress.
Shielding Trump from defamation lawsuits that have nothing to do with his presidential duties.
Withholding the OLC memo that AG Barr, his predecessor, cited as justification for not charging Trump following the Mueller investigation.
Blocking a subpoena requiring former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to testify in the for-profit-college student loan fraud case
Continuing the Trump/Barr legal efforts to maintain racist Social Security discrimination against Puerto Ricans.
Protecting discrimination against LGBTQ students by federally-funded religious schools.
Persecuting whistle-blower Natalie Edwards who exposed Russian involvement in the 2016 election and financial and political corruption by Trump cronies.
What corrective measures will you take to ensure that the DOJ upholds law and justice for everyone?
Longer Email/ResistBot Version:
I voted for Democrats because our nation was founded on the principle that no one is above the law – not even the president. I don't want America to become a land where the politically powerful are granted immunity from the consequences of their crimes and misrule and the wealthy are allowed to loot, cheat, and exploit with impunity. I expect – I demand – that President Biden, his administration, and members of Congress vigorously and thoroughly investigate Trump and his regime and hold them accountable. I am deeply disappointed that Attorney General Garland is choosing to turn a blind eye towards Trump-era abuses and crimes while continuing many of the indefensible actions and policies of his predecessor AG Barr such as:
Concealing illegal spying on the phone records of journalists and members of Congress. What other violations of constitutional freedom of speech and association is Garland’s DOG ignoring? Why are Trump political appointees who “serve at the will of the president” still in positions of power at the DOJ?
Shielding Trump from defamation lawsuits that have nothing to do with his presidential duties. Is the president not accountable to any law at all?
Withholding the OLC memo that AG Barr, his predecessor, cited as justification for not charging Trump following the Mueller investigation. What is in the memo that Garland does not want us to see?
Blocking a subpoena requiring former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to testify in the for-profit-college student loan fraud case. Why is AG Garland hiring corporate lawyers and then allowing them to use their federal authority to conceal the corrupt practices of their former clients?
Continuing the Trump/Barr legal efforts to maintain racist Social Security discrimination against Puerto Ricans. President Biden stated that the legal provision at issue, “is inconsistent with my Administration’s policies and values,“ so why is Garland defending it?
Protecting discrimination against LGBTQ students by federally-funded religious schools. Will federal-funding for “white-only” private schools who claim a religious affiliation be allowed next?
Persecuting whistle-blower Natalie Edwards who exposed Russian involvement in the 2016 election and financial and political corruption by Trump cronies. Why is the Garland DOJ continuing the Trump regime policy of persecuting the whistle-blowers rather than the criminals?
What corrective measures will you take to ensure that the DOJ upholds law and justice for everyone?
Background
Two general points to keep in mind when considering these issues:
Office-holders like Barr and Garland always claim they are protecting “national security” by maintaining the secrecy of “classified” documents. But it's well known that politicians and bureaucrats routinely classify as secret politically embarrassing or potentially incriminating information to protect themselves from us the American people rather than protecting our nation from foreign enemies. In the matter of illegal spying on journalists and members of Congress, for example, the "classified" information that formed the basis of their witch hunt was later declassified as being of no threat to national security at all.
There is no legal requirement that the current Justice Department must continue to advance bad arguments made by the previous DOJ. They are supposed to represent the people of the United States and to defend the Constitution to the best of their ability, even if that means going against the precedents of the previous regime and or supporting a Constitutional challenge to a statute enacted by Congress. Which is why previous incoming Attorney Generals reversed course by taking legal positions contrary to that of their predecessors.
Concealing illegal spying on the phone records of journalists and members of Congress. Under former AG Barr, the DOJ illegally obtained Apple and Microsoft phone data to spy on journalists and members of Congress. Garland's DOJ petitioned a federal judge to continue the gag orders that concealed those offenses.
Shielding Trump from defamation lawsuits that have nothing to do with his presidential duties. The Garland DOJ is shielding Donald Trump from a defamation lawsuit related to sexual abuse allegations by supporting in court Barr's outrageous claim that presidents are legally immune from all slander and libel suits. If left to stand, Garland’s doctrine would allow presidents to use their “bully pulpit” to falsely shame and accuse political opponents of treason, terrorism, criminality, and to incite hatred against them without fear of legal consequences.
Withholding the OLC memo that AG Barr, his predecessor, cited as justification for not charging Trump following the Mueller investigation. The Garland DOJ is trying to prevent public release of the full Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memo. Judge Amy Berman Jackson described their arguments as “so inconsistent with evidence in the record, they are not worthy of credence.”
Blocking a subpoena requiring former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to testify in the for-profit-college student loan fraud case. The Garland DOJ is trying to block a subpoena to depose former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a lawsuit filed by student loan borrowers who were defrauded by for-profit colleges. A recently-hired DOJ attorney whose previous private clients included corrupt scammers who pose as educational institutions is now using his position to shield DeVos.
Continuing the Trump/Barr legal efforts to maintain racist Social Security discrimination against Puerto Ricans. Under AG Barr, the DOJ appealed a lower court ruling overturning on Constitutional “equal-protection” grounds a legal provision that prohibited U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico from receiving Social Security SSI benefits. Claiming that the DOJ is required to defend the “constitutionality of federal statutes, regardless of policy preferences,” Garland's DOJ is carrying forward Barr's appeal. Yet in the past the DOJ has chosen not to defend unconstitutional laws such as the Defense of Marriage Act.
Protecting discrimination against LGBTQ students by federally-funded religious schools. The Garland DOJ announced that it would continue a Trump/Barr practice and “vigorously” defend in federal court a legal exemption allowing religious schools to discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation. After a public outcry, the DOJ amended it's announcement by deleting the word “vigorously,” but it continues to defend the exemption against a First-Amendment lawsuit by LGBTQ students who are challenging federal-funding for schools that discriminate on the basis of religious belief.
Persecuting whistle-blower Natalie Edwards who exposed Russian involvement in the 2016 election and financial and political corruption by Trump cronies. Natalie Edwards is a Treasury Department whistle-blower who tried to alert her department to Russian election subversion and financial and political corruption by Trump cronies Manafort, Butina, Gates, and others. When her superiors refused to take action, she leaked documents to the press revealing crimes, systemic corruption, and tax-cheating. She was arrested and prosecuted by the Trump regime. The Garland DOJ continued that prosecution until she accepted a guilty plea with a 6 month jail sentence. Meanwhile, despite promises to prosecute the actual criminals and financial institutions that she revealed, the DOJ has taken no public action to do so.
References:
1. The Trump Administration Made a Mockery of the Law. Why Hasn't Biden Tossed its Cases?, Revolving Door Project, 6/9/21
https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/the-trump-administration-made-a-mockery-of-the-law-why-hasnt-biden-tossed-its-cases/
2. Transcript: The Rachel Maddow Show, 6/8/21
https://www.msnbc.com/transcripts/transcript-rachel-maddow-show-6-8-21-n1270099
3. Future-Proofing the Presidency, Boston Globe, https://apps.bostonglobe.com/opinion/graphics/2021/06/future-proofing-the-presidency/part-1-a-treasure-map-for-an-american-tyrant/
4. Hunting Leaks, Trump Officials Focused on Democrats in Congress, NY Times 6/10/21
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/us/politics/justice-department-leaks-trump-administration.html
5. Why Is Garland’s DOJ Taking Trump’s Side Against E. Jean Carroll?, Nation Magazine, 6/10/21
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-carroll-garland/
6. Statement by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on Puerto Rico, 6/7/21
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/06/07/statement-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr-on-puerto-rico/
7. Biden DOJ to “vigorously” defend religious schools' right to discriminate against LGBTQ students, Salon 6/9/21
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/09/biden-doj-to-vigorously-defend-religious-schools-right-to-discriminate-against-lgbtq-students/
8. She Exposed the Truth About ‘Dirty Money’: It’s Everywhere, NY Times, 6/10/21
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/10/opinion/fincen-buzzfeed-edwards-prison.html