The Slow Grind by Geoff Carter « The Pen in Hand Blog

Artwork by Michael DiMilo

By Geoff Carter

“The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine”

–Ecclesiastes 8:10

Last week, nearly two years after the attack on the Capitol Building, a jury found Stewart Rhodes, leader of the far-right extremist Oath Keepers militia, guilty of seditious conspiracy, obstructing certification of the election, and destroying evidence for his actions on that day. Mr. Rhodes faces up to sixty years in prison. Although Kelly Meggs, one of Rhodes’ associates, was also convicted of sedition, three other defendants were found not guilty of that particulr charge. They were, however, convicted of lesser charges.

The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the State Capitol recently announced it will be releasing the complete report on its investigation, prompting Attorney General Merrick Garland to renew his request that the Department of Justice receive a copy as soon as possible. “We would like to have all the transcripts and all the other evidence collected by the committee so that we can use it in the ordinary course of our investigations,” stated Garland. (The Hill)

Garland also appointed Jack Smith as Special Counsel in the investigation of portions of the January 6^thinsurrection as well as the criminal possession of classified documents in Mar-a-Lago. A Florida appeals court also struck down the appointment of a special master overseeing the materials seized in the raid on the ex-president’s resort. And just yesterday, The Trump Organization was found guilty by a Manhattan jury of seventeen counts of tax fraud. All in all, it’s been a pretty bad week for former President Trump, as well as others involved in the January 6^th riot.

After watching the January 6^th hearings, there seems little doubt that the White House was deeply involved in the planning and execution of the attack on the Capitol Building. And now, for the first time, conspirators from a far-right militant group have been convicted in a federal court of plotting to overthrow the United States government. The Attorney General is directing the DOJ to examine the committee’s documents—ostensibly to see if charges should be issued. Garland also appointed one of the toughest jurists around to take charge of the Mar-a-Lago fiasco. It seems as if the net is tightening around Donald J. Trump and his henchmen.

If there ever was a man who deserved to be ground down by the law, it is Mr. Trump. Beyond his January 6^th and Mar-a-Lago involvements, there is the litany of sexual assault accusations, the investigation of his blatant attempt to extort votes from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the New York Attorney General investigation into the Trump Organization, and a series of civil suits against Trump for damages incurred during the January 6^th riot. And believe it or not, there are more.

But this is America, where the rich and famous seem to live by a different set of rules than the rest of us. Just look at our track record. Despite overwhelming evidence against him, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Robert Durst was another millionaire who got away with murder. Felicity Huffman paid a fine and served eleven days in jail for fraud for lying about her daughter’s college admission requirements. Oh, sorry, I forgot. She was also forced to perform community service. Bernie Madoff, the financier who defrauded his clients out of billions of dollars was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum, but served his time in Butner, a medium-security prison in North Carolina instead of in Leavenworth or any other maximum-security facility. There are many, many more instances of the justice peeking from under her blindfold while judging the rich and famous—far too many to list here.

Part of the reason for this is that the rich can afford the best (the most expensive) attorneys. O.J. had Johnny Cochran, F. Lee Bailey, Robert Shapiro, Robert Kardashian, Alan Dershowitz, and a few others on his “dream team”, whereas the prosecution team was headed by Marcia Clark and Chris Darden, two able but very unspectacular attorneys. I’m sure if Mr. Trump is taken to task for his misdeeds, he will be bringing in the best and the brightest litigators that money can buy.

Or as is often the case, state and federal prosecutors seem reluctant to go after the rich and powerful. Trump’s egregious acts would have resulted in anyone else being charged with a crime, but because he is a former president, any sort of retribution seems very slow in coming, even though investigations are ongoing in Georgia, Manhattan, and Washington, D.C. The wheels of justice do seem to be grinding—very, very slowly.

How fine will the wheels finally grind? Will the American people finally have satisfaction? Will Mr. Trump be held accountable for sedition or conspiracy in a court of law? Or conspiracy to commit election fraud (among other charges) in Georgia? Or more fraud investigations in New York? Or sexual assault charges? It remains to be seen. Common sense would tell us that the man is guilty of something. Anyone under investigation by so many prosecutors in so many states has most likely been up to no good. But common sense and the law don’t always dovetail.

But common sense may prevail. The January 6^th Committee has brought so many of the inner workings of the White House machinations to light—it has slowly, deliberately, and relentlessly worn away the doubts surrounding this man’s culpability—that any absolution or forgiveness will seem, well, unforgivable.

Let the wheels turn and hope their product will be exceedingly fine.