“Merrick Garland Made a Really Bad Call,” Ex-Prosecutor Criticizes Handling of Trump Report
(Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times)
A former SDNY Criminal Division Deputy Chief has suggested a straightforward solution for Attorney General Merrick Garland to address the controversy surrounding the release of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump’s handling of government documents.
During a Saturday appearance on MSNBC with host Katie Phang, ex-prosecutor Kristy Greenberg criticized Garland’s cautious approach as unnecessary and counterproductive. At the heart of the issue is Garland’s reluctance to release the full report publicly, citing concerns that doing so could impact the ongoing appeals case involving Trump associates Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira.
Their cases were dismissed by Trump-appointed Judge Aileen Cannon but are currently under appeal. Greenberg argued that Garland’s decision to withhold the report from the public while sharing it privately with select lawmakers was misguided. “Merrick Garland has, you know, made I think, a really bad call here,” Greenberg said.
“He said, ‘Well, because this appeal of Cannon’s dismissal of the case, as to those two co-defendants is still going on, because that’s pending, we’re not going to publicly release the classified documents volume, and we’re just going to share it with certain members of Congress privately because releasing it publicly could potentially prejudice those two co-defendants.’”
Greenberg countered that such caution is unwarranted given the political timeline. “In nine days, that case against those two co-defendants is going away. Trump is going to have his DOJ drop that appeal, so why not just drop the case against them, drop that appeal against them now? And then you can release this report,” she suggested.
Calling Garland’s strategy “silly” and “not pragmatic,” Greenberg emphasized the urgency of transparency, particularly as Trump prepares to take office again. Her remarks highlight growing frustration among legal analysts and political commentators about the perceived hesitation and overly cautious approach of Garland’s Department of Justice.
Greenberg’s comments come amid increasing pressure on Garland to demonstrate decisiveness in cases involving Trump and his associates, as public confidence in the justice system remains a critical concern. By dropping the appeal and releasing the report, she argued, Garland could resolve the situation without compromising justice or transparency.
