The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer has been one of the most reliable reporter-legal analysts covering the fallout in the post-Trump administration period. Of late, he has limited his coverage to focus squarely on the Justice Department itself and, even more specifically, Attorney General Merrick Garland. Foer is out with a new deep, deep dive – in which Foer says that everything he is seeing convinces him that Trump indictments are now inevitable, now only a matter of “when.” Such an observation comports with Trump’s bizarre behavior for the last two months and especially over the weekend at rallies in Nevada and Arizona.
Foer describes Garland as a “smaller than life” figure in a complimentary way, noting that Garland drives with comic “fastidiousness” and reveres the idea of a DOJ that is truly above it all, dispassionate, deeply intellectual, duty-bound, and apolitical; it all leads Foer to believe that indictments are coming:
I have been observing Garland closely for months. I’ve talked with his closest friends and most loyal former clerks and deputies. I’ve carefully studied his record. I’ve interviewed Garland himself. And I’ve reached the conclusion that his devotion to procedure, his belief in the rule of law, and in particular his reverence for the duties, responsibilities, and traditions of the U.S. Department of Justice will cause him to make the most monumental decision an attorney general can make.
Foer wants it clear that no one has “informed him” as to what is coming.
Let me be absolutely clear: Garland did not tell me he was going to indict Donald Trump. In fact, he did not tip his hand to me in any way—he is far too cautious to signal his intentions to even his closest friends, much less a reporter. Nor did his top aides suggest the announcement of an indictment. When his department says that it doesn’t discuss ongoing cases, it means it—at least in this case.
Smart to set that out. It informs us about Garland’s caution. One wonders how many of Garland’s closest advisers in the Justice Department even know what Garland will ultimately do.
After a long deep dive into Garland’s past, one that both humanizes Garland while also providing the launching pad for the ultimate conclusion, Foer notes that there is a ticking clock on filing an indictment. On January 20th, 2025, there could easily be a MAGA Republican A.G., one who would drop the Trump case in the middle of the trial (against every norm and rule at DOJ). This aspect of the investigation has not received the attention it deserves, but we at this site have, for the last six months, said that the window is passing, given the time it takes to hold a trial and get a verdict. Moreover, the closer one gets to 2024, the more the country, not just MAGAs, might see it as politically driven. But after Foer sets out that the decision will likely come down this year, after the mid-terms, he writes:
Faced with so unpalatable a choice, he doesn’t really have one. Because he can’t avoid tearing America further apart, he’ll decide based on the evidence—and on whether that evidence can persuade a jury. As someone who has an almost metaphysical belief in the rule book, he can allow himself to apply his canonical texts.
That’s what he’s tried to emphatically explain over the past months. Every time he’s asked about the former president, he responds, “No one is above the law.” He clearly gets frustrated that his answer fails to satisfy his doubters. I believe that his indictment of Trump will prove that he means it.
Agreed. It is coming. But it best come sooner rather than later, no matter how important it is to be cautious in framing the case and evidence. The window is closing.
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