Dem
51
Ties
1
GOP
48
Yesterday, we had an item headlined "When Will Biden Announce?" If you think about it, the question of indicting Donald Trump is subject to very similar pressures. It would be impolitic to do it before the midterms, but once Election Day has passed, then the more lead time before the 2024 election, the better. Consequently, the folks who run the Republican Party are expecting that within 90 days of the election, AG Merrick Garland will indict Trump. For what it's worth, 90 days will elapse on Feb. 6, 2023.
The Republicans who talked to The Hill for the piece linked above insist they have no inside information. We believe them; Garland plays things pretty close to the vest even within the Department of Justice; he certainly wouldn't spill any beans to people who might be close to Trump. The Republicans' reasoning is pretty sound: (1) There's a lot of pressure on Garland to take action, and (2) the more time that passes, the more controversial an indictment becomes. What they did not mention is that Garland is undoubtedly mindful that Trump is itching to launch a presidential bid, and that once he does so, things get much more sticky. So, the AG would undoubtedly like to beat the former president to the punch.
Truth be told, in view of the benefits of beating Trump to the punch, we would not be terribly surprised to see an indictment come down before Thanksgiving. And then everyone can write headlines about the DoJ carving up the world's biggest turkey. (Z)