Folks this is 99% Jeff Sessions’ fault.
He allowed all this to metasticize especially early when jailing a bunch of these fascists on federal civil rights charges would have sent a message.
The fact of Sessions’ recusal makes it hard to argue the point, but I’ll try anyway:
I just think “jailing a bunch of these fascists” was always far easier said than done.
Case in point: as strong and un-Sessions-like as Barr is, he hasn’t done it either, and he enjoys huge advantages that Jeff Sessions never had - not the least of which is the fact that Trump has now been inoculated by a thorough 2 year cavity search and by submitting to it has proven to reasonable Americans that he is no Nixon. When Sessions (supposedly) had his chance, Trump hadn’t yet proven himself - I don’t think he wanted Sessions to throw anyone in jail.
I think scape-goating is sometimes a political necessary - and I don’t fault President Trump at all for doing it - but some day, perhaps in his memoirs, I hope he pulls the hapless Jeff Sessions our from under the bus.