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NEW: DOJ appears to be taking a backseat to state & local investigators as they pursue investigations competing for the distinction of being the first to turn former President Trump into a criminal defendant. by @cryanbarber & @WARojas ($) @thisisinsider https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-trump-justice-department-criminal-investigation-new-york-georgia-2021-4
As Merrick Garland has settled in as attorney general, there have been no public signals of his department pursuing Trump. At the same time, state and local prosecutors in NY & Georgia have only ramped up their scrutiny of Trump as a businessman and his actions as president.
"I think the truth is Garland wants an investigation of Trump like he wants a hole in the head. It's the last thing he wants as attorney general," one former top Justice Department official told Insider.
For Garland and his leadership team at the Justice Department, the question of what to do about the previous president presents a test fraught with peril.
A federal case against Trump would also risk playing into the banana-republic notion of law enforcement serving as a cudgel to be wielded against political opponents, especially after a 2016 election in which Trump's supporters celebrated the notion of locking up Hillary Clinton.
Under Trump's administration, Attorney General William Barr was widely condemned for intervening in cases to the benefit of Trump's friends and allies, and Trump himself spoke of how the Justice Department should defend him at all cost.
"It's quite a problem for Merrick and now for" Lisa Monaco, a former federal prosecutor said, referring to the recently confirmed deputy attorney general who serves as the Justice Department's second-ranking official.
The department has no shortage of avenues to explore or retread with Trump — from the Stormy Daniels hush $ payment to January 6. There's also Mueller's findings on obstruction.
Many Dems & Trump critics demand a reckoning for the former POTUS on the belief that no one is above the law. But Biden has told advisors that he does not want a divisive investigation into his predecessor that would consume his presidency, NBC News reported.
The investigations in NY & Georgia could provide a convenient release valve as demands from many Democrats to hold Trump accountable conflict with the Biden administration's stated goal of depoliticizing the Justice Department and turning the page after a turbulent four years.
Norm Eisen, a former aide to House Democrats during Trump's first impeachment, said as "a practical matter, there's a very steep hill to climb whenever you have a new administration considering whether to prosecute a predecessor — a defeated, vanquished predecessor."
The "steep — though rebuttable — presumption against charging the defeated head of a former administration" and "more advanced criminal investigations" in New York and Georgia would play into any decision the Justice Department makes with Trump," Eisen said.
"On the federal level, we shall see," added Eisen, who in 2018 coauthored a report outlining an obstruction case against Trump.
Check out the full story from @cryanbarber & @WARojas w/ a @thisisinsider subscription. Click through from here to sign up: https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-trump-justice-department-criminal-investigation-new-york-georgia-2021-4
