Merrick Garland is in the land of no good options. If he prosecutes Trump, he plays into the man on golf cart’s favorite victim narrative, riles up the red base, and exposes law enforcement and the government in general to right-wing violence. If he doesn’t, he gives everyone the impression that Trump is above the law, and can act with complete impunity. What does he do?
Regardless of what Garland undoubtedly wants, this decision is a political act, and must be viewed in that context. The objective here is not to avoid violence from the extreme right, but to separate the extreme right from the rest of the Republican Party. To that end, Garland needs to avoid relying on strained interpretations of the law and the facts, to be consistent with DOJ precedents, and to explain his decisions to the American public as clearly as possible. If, using those criteria, he decides that prosecution is in the national interest, he should have at least the acquiescence of the vast majority of the American people. That would isolate the unreconstructed Trumpist right, which cannot win power on its own, either at the ballot box or on the streets.
If, when it is all said and done, he finds that prosecution is not in the national interest, he should provide us with a full explanation of his rationale and leave the ultimate decision to the voters.