Former DOJ officials warned in a new letter that the “fabric of the nation, the rule of law and the future of the Democracy are at stake in this election.”

For Justice Department employees who had spent weeks contemplating the possibility of two-time federal criminal defendant Donald Trump returning to the presidency, Joe Biden’s decision to drop out and endorse Kamala Harris offered a sense of relief.

Former and current Justice Department employees believe that a future president Harris, a former prosecutor, unlike Trump, would respect the norms that have been in place to ensure DOJ independence in the half-century since Watergate.

Those fears of another Trump term are central to a new letter endorsing Harris, signed by more than 40 former Justice Department officials who served under presidents of both parties. They include former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former deputy attorneys general Sally Yates, David Ogden and Jamie Gorelick, and John McKay, who was appointed as a top federal prosecutor in Washington state during the George W. Bush administration, among others.

Trump “regularly ignored the rule of law” as president, the former officials wrote, pointing out that one of his first acts was an “unconstitutional Muslim travel ban” and one of his last acts was an attempt “to stay in power by defying election results and the will of the American people.”

  • danc4498@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    When she ran in 2020, she was like 4th or 5th in my list.

    I think where we are no, there’s no other options logistically, and I am happy with her. But we shouldn’t pretend she was the best candidate.

    If Biden never ran for a 2nd term (as should have happened), do you think Harris would have been guaranteed to win?

    • Xanis@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I think no candidate is a guarantee. All we can do is increase the likelihood. Right now there are two groups against Harris, Republicans being a given:

      1. The people who denounced Biden’s Presidency and claim he’s done nothing, despite his rather impressive record these last four years.

      2. Those who denounce Harris by attaching her to Biden and then complain about how she can’t win and that both are bad for the county because [insert democrat party].

      What we never get are reasons. The simple reality is that you may have your opinions, and the opinions I hear so often are old. A courtesy search allows you to learn a lot about any candidate and member of any party. However, I can’t expect you to spend the time to learn about any of them yourself. The Dems get this much at least, and so does Harris. It’s why she’s pushing so hard.

      Now’s the time to show us why she can be President and why she can beat Trump. 2020 doesn’t matter. Now does. Reasons matter.

      • danc4498@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I will just say that I am excited she doesn’t have the baggage Biden has and I am hopeful that as time goes on I will appreciate her more in her own right. I am not there yet, and I assume the person you were responding to originally was in a similar place.

        She hasn’t really earned this, but she has the opportunity to prove she deserves it.