Top DOJ official abruptly resigns over his role in the Trump DOJ spying scandal
Although the doom and gloom forecasters of Resistance Twitter have gone into a fever pitch over the last week, interpreting even the slightest movement made by the Justice Department as proof of the worst case scenario, things are already in full motion under a new DOJ that is taking on a massive agenda. After the bombshell that broke last week about Donald Trump’s DOJ being weaponized to spy on his political opponents, Attorney General Merrick Garland stepped up to the plate immediately to begin an investigation of those involved.
Just days later, we’re already seeing results – with Trump appointee John Demers tendering his resignation on Monday morning. There are reports that he was contemplating resignation by the end of the month, but you’d have to consider why Demers decided to leave when he did – seeming that he was one of the few Trumpers left at the DOJ and knew that the story of Trump’s people spying on congressional Democrats by subpoenaing companies like Apple and Microsoft in secret was inevitably going to break.
Other developments in the case aren’t likely to happen as fast – but the more problematic people under Garland’s watch are already trying to distance themselves, meaning we’ll probably get a bit more of the story very soon. In a legitimate investigation, things tend to move much slower than most of us want them to – but it’s a sign that things are being done carefully with little room for error.
For Garland to de-politicize a Justice Department that should have never been politicized in the first place, he can’t simply go around locking up Trump and his associates, as much as resistors have been dreaming about it for years. If it were that easy, things right now would be considerably worse – with a good chance that Donald Trump and Bill Barr would still be running the show, and effectively prosecuting their most vehement critics. Today’s news is an important sign that things are going in the right direction, however long they may take.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making