Opinion | Michael Conway: 'Garland’s institutional loyalty cannot justify whitewashing the action of his predecessors in the Trump-era Justice Department or the careerists who carried out their directives.' - NBCNewsTHINK
Nixon also authorized the FBI to wiretap: five current or former National Security Council employees or contractors ; a White House speechwriter; and two other White House aides. All in all, the telephones of 17 persons were wiretapped; none led to a prosecution for leaking classified material.These misdeeds were, however, among those supporting the Judiciary Committee’s charge that Nixon abused his power as president.
But while Nixon’s misconduct has been thoroughly exposed — and much was exposed prior to Nixon’s resignation — the actions of Trump’s Department of Justice remained completely shrouded in secrecy for years, and the whole story remains to be revealed And until the government’s filings in support of their secret subpoenas and any related court transcripts are revealed, neither the public nor Congress can judge the legitimacy of the Trump administration’s probe of journalists, the House intelligence committee and its own White House counsel or the extent to which its prosecutors were candid and truthful to the court that issued the gag orders.
Nixon’s abuse of power led to a congressional impeachment inquiry that culminated in his resignation— but, thanks to Republican senators, Trump dodged conviction in two separate impeachment trials. But Justice Department lawyers who were complicit in obtaining the phone records and persuading a court to ban Apple from disclosing the seizure to its customers must be investigated.
On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland took the first baby step to get answers. He asked the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate the subpoenas,Ever the department institutionalist, however, Garland’s modest step is both toothless and naive.
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