In defense of Trump, Vance targets the Justice Department

U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance wants the wheels of justice to turn even slower. Strike that. The Cincinnati Republican, in a fit of pique against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, said he would "grind his department to a halt." Vance announced Tuesday that he would place a "hold" on Department of Justice nominations to protest what he described as "the DOJ improperly targeting conservatives." (He excluded nominations for the U.S. Marshals Service.) This was Vance's unfortunate revenge for what he sees as the Justice Department caring "more about politics than law enforcement" and the indictment of former President Donald Trump on federal charges last week. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of improperly retaining classified documents and refusing to return them despite being given multiple opportunities to do so. Before the indictment had even been unsealed last week, Vance had made up his mind about the case. "We live in a third world country with a two-tiered justice system," Vance said in a statement sent out at 9:37 p.m. last Thursday, the day the indictment became public knowledge, but before the details of the charges had been released. He continued: "The actions of the corrupt Department of Justice should stand as a warning to all Americans: if the leader of our great nation could fall victim to such an injustice the same could happen for anybody." Let's pause for a moment to remember that Trump is no longer "the leader of our great nation," which is why he's in trouble for hoarding classified documents. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, however much he falsely claims that he didn't. Nor are most Americans in danger of being charged with illegally making off with classified documents. When those who have access to government secrets willfully break the laws governing such documents, they are generally charged. For example, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Birchum was recently sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to unlawfully possessing and retaining hundreds of classified national security documents. Conservatives are quick to point out that both President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence also were found to have improperly retained classified documents after departing government service. The difference is that, unlike Trump, both returned the documents when they were discovered. The Justice Department has notified Pence — who, it must be noted, is a conservative and a GOP presidential candidate like Trump, albeit one with a low chance of winning — that he won't be charged. Biden's possession of classified documents is being reviewed by a special counsel. It's a good bet that Republican outrage if Biden were to be charged would be muted, to say the least. None of that appears to matter much to Vance and Trump's other stalwart defenders in the GOP. Bernie Moreno, a Republican vying to challenge U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, next year, was likewise dismissive of the charges against Trump. In a new release sent out at 9:05 p.m. last Thursday, again before the indictment's details were made public, Moreno dismissed the charges as more than "just blatant election interference." They were, he said, "a miscarriage of justice." Nor is Vance the only Republican looking for ways to gum up the works at the Justice Department. The Washington Post reported this week that U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, who represented Lorain County in Congress until his district was redrawn last year, was looking into creating a list of "policy riders" to attach to bills to restrict Justice Department and FBI funding. Among the potential targets for Republicans is funding for a new FBI headquarters and the special counsel's office. How successful those efforts would be is questionable given that Democrats still control the Senate and that some Republicans would prefer not to be called out in campaign ads for defunding law enforcement. Nor can Vance by himself prevent Justice Department nominees from being confirmed. At most he'll be able to slow the process, which he, for all his bluster, seemed to realize. "Let's make this department work a little bit more slowly until Merrick Garland changes course and actually does his job the right way," Vance was quoted as saying by NBC News. The "right way" apparently involves ignoring alleged lawbreaking by Vance's political allies. Talk about politicizing the justice system.