DOJ Punishes Prosecutors, Not the Pardoned
MSNBC's take on the DOJ putting two prosecutors on leave for attempting to jail A.J. Fischer – a January 6th rioter pardoned by Trump – barely scratches the surface. The real story isn't the internal DOJ drama, it's the blatant double standard. While the Biden administration makes performative statements about respecting democratic institutions, its DOJ caves to the implied power of a presidential
pardon, effectively signaling that the crimes committed by those who attacked the Capitol can be waved away by political favor. Fischer, who pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, had his sentence vacated after the pardon, leaving taxpayers footing the bill for legal theatrics. One might wonder if the DOJ would be so quick to place prosecutors on leave if
they sought sentencing for, say, a Black Lives Matter protester pardoned by a sympathetic mayor. Or if they were exposing the systematic failures of institutions, rather than protecting a politically connected rioter. This isn't about legal technicalities; it's about whose 'crimes' get forgotten, and whose 'justice' is applied with extreme prejudice.