Anyone old enough to have voted for Ronald Reagan, only need look at
the record to realize that this "mutual protection" clause has become
standard practice. I say Ronald Reagan because most of us can recall
events from that long ago pretty clearly. The truth is that this
"protection" has probably been a factor from the very beginning. When
the Ruling Class is changing some of its political leaders, it does
not want to run the risk of allowing openings for attacks against its
Control.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/18/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Just like Obama decided not to look into Bush's starting an illegal war, a
torture program, a program that captured young men and sent them to other
countries for torture, and all that followed. But the reason as far as I'm
concerned, is not to unite the country. It's that everyone in the political
class gives cover to each other. No matter what they do, they'll never be
prosecuted.
Miriam
Biden Planning to Discourage Criminal Investigations of Trump
By Carol E. Lee, Kristen Welker and Mike Memoli, NBC News
18 November 20
Biden has told aides that he's concerned that investigations would divide
the country but that he would leave decisions up to an independent Justice
Department.
President-elect Joe Biden has privately told advisers that he doesn't want
his presidency to be consumed by investigations of his predecessor,
according to five people familiar with the discussions, despite pressure
from some Democrats who want inquiries into President Donald Trump, his
policies and members of his administration.
Biden has raised concerns that investigations would further divide a
country
he is trying to unite and risk making every day of his presidency about
Trump, said the sources, who spoke on background to offer details of
private
conversations.
They said he has specifically told advisers that he is wary of federal tax
investigations of Trump or of challenging any orders Trump may issue
granting immunity to members of his staff before he leaves office. One
adviser said Biden has made it clear that he "just wants to move on."
Another Biden adviser said, "He's going to be more oriented toward fixing
the problems and moving forward than prosecuting them."
Any decisions by Biden's Justice Department regarding Trump, his staff, his
associates, his business or his policies wouldn't affect investigations by
state officials, including Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who
has fought to obtain Trump's tax returns.
As Biden tries to balance his own inclinations with pressures from within
his party, his advisers stressed that he is seeking to reset the dynamic
between the White House and the Justice Department from what it has been
under Trump.
Biden wants his Justice Department to function independently from the White
House, aides said, and Biden isn't going to tell federal law enforcement
officials whom or what to investigate or not to investigate.
"His overarching view is that we need to move the country forward," an
adviser said. "But the most important thing on this is that he will not
interfere with his Justice Department and not politicize his Justice
Department."
A third Biden adviser said that when it comes to any Trump-related
investigations, the expectation is "it's going to be very situational" and
"depending on the merits." Broadly, Biden's priorities will be the economy,
the coronavirus, climate change and race relations, not looking back at the
Trump administration, an adviser said.
Presidents generally set the tone for what issues they believe should be
priorities for the Justice Department, and questions about Trump-related
investigations or retrospective reviews are expected to intensify as Biden
gets closer to taking office.
"He can set a tone about what he thinks should be done," a Biden adviser
said. But, the adviser said, "he's not going to be a president who directs
the Justice Department one way or the other."
Biden's team is also reluctant to send any signal to Trump administration
officials that the Justice Department wouldn't look into their actions,
given that there are still nine weeks until the inauguration, another
person
briefed about the discussions said.
"While they're not looking for broad criminal indictments, they do want to
make sure that people don't think there are no ramifications for any of
their actions between now and the new presidency," this person said.
Emphasizing an arm's-length approach to the Justice Department could give
Biden cover from criticism from his supporters about any lack of
investigations into Trump, his policies or his staff. Democrats have
sharply
criticized Trump's direct influence on Justice Department investigations,
including his calls for Biden and former President Barack Obama to be
prosecuted over allegations of unspecified crimes. Pledging, as Biden has,
not to interfere with federal investigations would be welcomed by many of
his supporters.
But it will be difficult for Biden to avoid the issue altogether, given the
expected calls for investigations into an array of issues involving Trump -
from his administration's child separation policy to his taxes, possible
conflicts of interest and potential violations of campaign finance law. The
issue could set Biden on a collision course with some of his own
supporters,
who are eager for a wholesale examination of the Trump presidency.
"There's also a strong school of thought that believes the law's the law,"
a
Biden adviser said, describing the internal debate.
Biden said many times during the campaign that he would leave any decision
whether to prosecute Trump up to his attorney general. "If that was the
judgment that he violated the law and he should be, in fact, criminally
prosecuted, then so be it," he said during a debate in Atlanta. "But I
would
not direct it."
Biden has said he wouldn't pardon Trump should that become a realistic
question.
Still, multiple aides said, Biden is generally not inclined to see his
Justice Department investigate Trump.
One of the reasons he has given aides is that he believes investigations
would alienate the more than 73 million Americans who voted for Trump, the
people familiar with the discussions said. Some Democrats, however, have
said Biden should be prioritizing the concerns of his supporters, not those
of his detractors.
The delicate balance of answering to his own supporters and uniting the
country is in part why Biden recognizes that his nominee for attorney
general is "going to be one of the most consequential decisions he's going
to make," an adviser said.
Biden has vowed to sign an executive order declaring that any member of his
administration would be fired if found to "initiate, encourage, obstruct or
otherwise improperly influence specific DOJ investigations or prosecutions
for any reason."
The dilemma facing Biden is similar to the one Obama faced when he took
office in 2009. Democrats were demanding the prosecution of Bush
administration officials who were involved in policies that allowed
enhanced
interrogations, or torture, of terrorism suspects.
To appease those Democrats, Obama released memos about the controversial
program and then publicly said he didn't support prosecuting Bush
administration officials who devised or carried out the policies. He also
rejected calls for a 9/11-style commission or a truth and reconciliation
commission, like the one that examined apartheid in South Africa, to review
the policies.
