By james art As always happens when people who don’t bother to check public records get scared, people again complain about Merrick Garland, both of them not noticing how many times Garland explained publicly that in June 2021 the DOJ has created a special election task force to prepare for that moment and complain that (they say) Garland didn’t impeach Donald Trump.
I was already working on a timeline when Politico’s two-year effort to get the District Court for the District of Columbia to unseal the grand jury cases paid off yesterday. Kyle Cheney has a story detailing how documents he unearthed show both Beryl Howell and her successor as Chief Justice James Boasberg continue to push back against Trump’s efforts to delay precisely because the upcoming elections.
More than 18 months ago, as Donald Trump tried to delay the testimony of several high-profile witnesses before a grand jury investigating his efforts to undermine the 2020 election, Washington’s top federal district judge sensed potential disaster.
“The special counsel’s investigation is moving quickly. It is imperative that this move quickly, especially so that it does not interfere with the 2024 election cycle,” Chief Justice James Boasberg said on April 3, 2023, according to a recently unsealed transcript of the secret proceedings. “So when the former president’s plea says there will be a nominal impact of delay, I think that’s a gross understatement that there will be a serious and detrimental impact of delay.”
Boasberg’s warning in the early stages of former President Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation now sounds prescient. A series of Trump-induced delays, most notably an eight-month freeze while the Supreme Court deemed his request completely immune from the charges, have brought the criminal proceedings into conflict with the 2024 election cycle and made it impossible for Trump to face impeachment. trial on the most serious charges he faces before Election Day.
The documents also confirm dates that anti-Garland fliers yesterday claimed I made up. The executive privilege fight began with a June 15, 2022 subpoena (presumably to Greg Jacobs and Mark Short) and continued the following April when Jack Smith—arriving after the precedents on executive privilege had already been set—had Mike Pence testify on April 27 .
Here’s the timeline mapped from the documents released by Politico:
June 15, 2022: Summons to two officials (probably Jacob and Short)
September 28, 2022: Order and opinion requiring testimony from two officials (probably Jacob and Short)
October 6, 2022: Order and opinion denying stay of judgment
November 19, 2022: Order and opinion requiring testimony (probably the two Pats, Cipollone and Philbin)
December 18, 2022: Order and opinion denying stay
January 23, 2022: Order and opinion extending appeal
December 9, 2022: Order and Opinion Requiring Testimony (Probably Eric Hershman, Description of His Emails Requiring Written Instructions Given)
January 10, 2023: Order and opinion denying stay
March 15, 2023: Order and Opinion Calling for Testimony (This is the omnibus order covering eight people — see redacted list on page 2 — including Mark Meadows, Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino)
March 25, 2023: Opinion calling for testimony, possibly including Mike Pence
April 3, 2023: Transcript of hearing possibly featuring Mike Pence
April 10, 2023: Transcript of hearing possibly featuring Mike Pence
