Department of Injustice Watch: New Black Panther Party scandal update
It’s the festering scandal the dinosaur media doesn’t want to touch.
But conservative media continue to cover it – and principled advocates for transparency, election integrity, and rule of law continue to shine light on the DO(I)J corruptocracy.
The latest on stonewalling via Jennifer Rubin at Commentary’s Contentions blog:
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights last month propounded interrogatories and document requests to the Justice Department seeking answers as to why the New Black Panther Party case of voter intimidation was dismissed, who was involved, what outside groups participated in the decision, and what this portends for the enforcement of federal civil rights laws. The Justice Department has responded, I have learned.
In a letter to the commission’s chairman, Joseph Hunt, director of the Federal Programs Branch, contends that the department is limited in what it can provide out of concern for its “deliberative processes” and so as not to “undermine its mission.” He doesn’t invoke “executive privilege” per se, but he does assert attorney-client privilege (which some legal gurus tell me doesn’t really “work” between government entities and agencies as a valid objection).
Although the answers largely consist of boilerplate objections, the department does argue that “career attorneys” with more than 60 years of experience made the call to dump the case and that an injunction was obtained against one individual defendant who actually brandished a weapon. Despite the work of the trial team (which sources inform me had ample factual and legal grounds for bringing the case against additional defendants), the Justice Department now says that unnamed career attorneys determined that it should drop the case against those additional defendants. And, of course, the response says politics played no role in the decision. Asked whether the No. 3 man in the Justice Department, Thomas Perrelli, was involved in the decision, as the Washington Times reported, the Justice Department provided no answer, only series of objections. Likewise, the most transparent administration in history — or so we are told — declines to provide the names of those career attorneys who were the decision makers. And at least for now, the Justice Department is not coughing up the names of civil rights groups that may have encouraged them to drop the case against the additional defendants.
In short, the commission is being stiffed.
The Washington Times keeps the heat on:
There needs to be a housecleaning at the very troubled Justice Department, and the top echelons of the Civil Rights Division is the right place to start. Its division chief – a presidential appointee – and its highly politicized senior career employees promote liberal ideology more than they enforce the law.
The latest imbroglio concerns two of the division’s top career lawyers, the ones whom the Obama team chose to run the division until controversial nominees Thomas Perrelli and Thomas Perez could be confirmed. The two officials, Loretta King and Steven H. Rosenbaum, were heavily involved (along with Mr. Perrelli) in dropping an already-won voter-intimidation case against several members of the New Black Panther Party in Philadelphia, and both were responsible for other, questionable race-based decisions. On Dec. 30, a federal district court in Kansas sanctioned them for misconduct.
The misconduct involved a failure to be “fully responsive” to earlier court filings. Significantly, the judge – himself a liberal who formerly served as counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union – held the Justice Departmentattorneys personally and “solely responsible for paying the monetary sanctions.”
As the Heritage Foundation’s Hans von Spakovsky pointed out in December, this is at least the second such sanction earned by Ms. King.
Let the DOJ know you are watching: Contact info here.
***
GOP Rep. Frank Wolf won’t let it rest:
WOLF CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR ANSWERS ON VOTER INTIMIDATION CASE
Washington, D.C. – As part of his ongoing effort to get answers as to why the Justice Department dismissed a voter intimidation case in Philadelphia involving members of the New Black Panther Party, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10th) today announced that he has introduced a measure that would require the House Judiciary Committee to deal with the issue.
Wolf also announced that he had language inserted in the annual spending bill that funds the Justice Department requiring that its Office of Professional Responsibility provide the results of the investigation it is conducting surrounding the dismissal the case to the House Appropriations Committee. Wolf, the top Republican on the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee, and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, requested the investigation earlier this year.
Wolf introduced a Resolution of Inquiry on Wednesday and it has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee. Under House rules, committees must take action on resolutions of inquiry within 14 legislative days. Wolf’s resolution directs the U.S. attorney general to provide Congress will “all information” relating to the decision to dismiss the case. The committee must vote the resolution up or down.
Wolf has written the attorney general six times seeking answers and has yet to receive a response from him. He also has written DOJ’s inspector general seeking answers.
“I regret that Congress must resort to oversight resolutions as a means to receive information about the dismissal of this case, but the Congress and the American people have a right to know why this case was not prosecuted,” Wolf said in a statement introducing the measure.
Below is Wolf’s complete statement:
“I rise today to introduce a Resolution of Inquiry directing the attorney general to transmit to the House all information relating to the decision to dismiss an important voter intimidation case, United States v. New Black Panther Party. The case sought to enforce Voting Rights Act statutes against members of the New Black Panther Party that threatened Philadelphia voters — both verbally and physically — last year.
“This case was inexplicably dismissed earlier this year — over the ardent objections of the career attorneys overseeing the case as well as the department’s own appeal office.
“I regret that Congress must resort to oversight resolutions as a means to receive information about the dismissal of this case, but the Congress and the American people have a right to know why this case was not prosecuted.
“As ranking Republican member of the House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Justice Department, I take oversight of the department very seriously.
“I also strongly support voting rights protections. In 1981, I was the only member — Republican or Democrat — of the Virginia delegation in the House to vote for the Voting Rights Act and was harshly criticized by the editorial page of the Richmond Times Dispatch, and when I supported its reauthorization in 2006, I was criticized again by editorial pages.
“Time and again over the last year, the department has stonewalled any effort to learn about the decision to dismiss this case. I have written Attorney General Holder on six occasions asking for an explanation for the dismissal of this case. To date, I have received no response from him.
“I wrote the DOJ inspector general to request a review of this decision. He deferred to the Office of Professional Responsibility – which reports directly to the attorney general. I have written the Office of Professional Responsibility seeking information on its investigation. The Office has refused to share any information.
“In fact, the only response I have received – from a legislative affairs staffer – was woefully incomplete and – in places – inaccurate.
“Two months ago, I met with House Judiciary Chairman Conyers to ask for his assistance in obtaining this information, but he has yet to take any action. This is a shameful failure to provide necessary congressional oversight.
“It is not only Congress that is being stonewalled by the attorney general. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has repeatedly sought this same information, in fulfillment of its statutory responsibility to ensure the enforcement of civil rights law.
“After being similarly rebuffed, the commission filed subpoenas with the department for this information as well as to interview the career attorneys that handled the case.
“However, we understand that the attorney general has instructed his department to ignore these subpoenas. The nation’s chief law enforcement officer is forcing these career attorneys to choose between complying with the law and complying with the attorney general’s obstruction.
“At least one of the attorneys has been compelled to obtain private counsel.
“I urge the House Judiciary Committee to report this resolution out favorably and to demand that the attorney general answer the questions surrounding this case. The career attorneys and Appellate Division within the department sought to demonstrate the federal government’s commitment to protecting voting rights by vigorously prosecuting any individual or group that seeks to undermine this right.
“This House must not turn a blind eye to the attorney general’s obstruction. He has an obligation to answer the legitimate questions of the House and the Civil Rights Commission. It is imperative that we protect the right of all Americans to vote — the sacrosanct and inalienable right of any democracy.”
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Categories: Eric Holder,New Black Panther Party
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This is why I suspect a number resembling 5% as the minimum safe margin to avoid a recount and a guaranteed Democrap win in 2010, and closer to a 10% minimum safe margin of living US citizens voting only once and in the proper place to keep any seat in 2012 from going Demonrat.
Remember also Holder is challenging states like Georgia that have ID requirement to either vote or register.
The era of free and fair elections is over with this group, and soon it’ll be the era of perpetual single party rule.
What the…. ? Is this a time warp back to 1968? Call Harry Callahan.
Free and honest elections are the bedrock of a free society, and MUST be preserved at all costs! Anyone caught trying to subvert the voting process must be arrested, tried and jailed. If the top justice deparment in the land is corrupt, We The People, must stand up to them and bring them down. How else can we preserve our liberty? How long will we allow the takeover of this country by a few very evil people? The have NO RIGHT to do this to us. They must be brought down. I’m sorry, but I feel a revolution coming on and it isn’t going to be pretty. These devils will not go easily, and innocent people are going to get hurt.
Vote early! Vote often!
I think I’ve seen that embroidered on a doily somewhere.
This administration is feckless. It would have been little of an issue if the parties inquestion had just been fined or whatever. By absolving them, after they accepted guilt, created an issue of accepting lawlessness for special interests. Elite intellectuals my – uh, donkey.
If Holder does not comply then Congress has the obligation to have him removed from office. Better yet, defund his department until he does comply.
Maybe not this year but come 2011, it’s “Katie bar the door!” It will be rat hunting season soon.
Now I recognize the picture… Those playboys are Tonton Macoute wannabes.
You will never get honest elections as long as the most corrupt government in the history of this nation is in power. I honestly believe that the only way to get rid of these crooks is an all out revolution. What we have today is a government that makes King George look like a benevolent brother.
I have said for the last six months not to put all your eggs in one basket for the 2010 elections. If the national election can be corrupted and nothing done about it then for sure the Congressional elections can be done more easily. Voting is what makes us Americans instead of takeovers, coups, and armed intimidations. Unless thats what we want. When the election process is defaced then we no longer exist as Americans. We need much stronger laws and enforcement.
they have permits for those handguns in the photo?
with ya happyscraper…
We need to abolish the Electorial college and go strickly by popular vote. Your vote really doesn’t count when the electorial college can vote against you.
We’re not a democracy. Popular vote leaves small population states as slaves to large cities.
Again you miss the brilliance of our Forefathers. The checks and balances of a representative republic. You want our country’s voting process to be run just
like American Idol? I don’t think so!
The Electoral College is just another pain in the a$$ check against democracy run amok! You want that Electoral College! You need that Electoral College!
Speakeasy is so right – if Holder had allowed this case to be prosecuted, the animals involved would already be on trial, possibly behind bars, and this whole issue would be history. But Holder has turned a mole hill into a mountain, and he should be forced to resign or prosecuted himself.
Cheddar….
Love that “A Few Good Men” reference!! LOL!!
Now isn’t that a nice photo of those two young men.
Hmmmm… they appear to have guns.
And what do these nice young men, no doubt “Community Organizers”, intend to shoot with those guns?
Yes, one could certainly wonder what or who they plan to level those guns at. Who would the “Black” panthers want to shoot?
Hmmmm……
On the contrary, this is what this administration wants.
These will be a vanguard unit of the Civilian Security Services. Eric Holder is not going to harass his own reserves.
—-
No permits for my guns good people-we do not do that in a HONEST Republic. Permits-> registration->confiscation as with Britain, France, Canada and Australia.
Then Eric Holder’s NBPP can indeed run amok. The armed citizen is the best defense against tyranny.
Why are you people so condescending? Some one makes a comment and you express your abstain by jumping all over them. You think you put your pants on different than me? BS. You think you are better? smarter, than me? Your not. Comments ike American idol and such I can do without Rogue ! I’ll bet you will jump on these comments. any takers! I can read you hyocrits like a book..
It is worse than that Dan. The Justice department already had won the case and then choose to dismiss it. Holder would have been smarter to let the win stand, give these guys community service (perhaps even poll watching /sarc)and claim that justice was done.
hypocrits not hyocrits..see you got me mad… but you revel in that. me bad. and its like not ike.
If there is less than a 7% margin ACORN can expedite such things as ‘Absentee’, Dead folks by varying degree, dead at birth & dead since before computer technology are optimum.
There will be ‘Bus’ companies invented on Tuesday that will vanish. There will be purple shirts at the polls and at the counting.
As in 2000 there will be Dem retained lawyers on the ground in Mass before sunrise on Wednsday. They will have lists of marginal precincts where votes have been ‘lost or racially effected’ leading to an ‘undercount’.
Fixed it for you Toy. Maybe you should call your Mom to come down to the basement and proofread your posts before submitting.
Yeah I should, but my mom is dead thanks
Don’t forget the “misplaced” military absentee votes.
No worry… this hick won’t be back..
Riiiight.
2008 was the template for all elections to follow. the democrats running state legislatures have passed these “voter fraud helper” laws, like motor-voter, prisoners voting, voting with no i.d. so it will require a long hard slog to overthrow the state legislatures and put rules back into our voting laws. the one man one vote rule went out in the 1960 election, and by 2008, it was obvious todays rule is cheat baby cheat. al franken and many others are serving despite losing the original and even second count. but those dimpled chads keep floating to the judiciaries plate, making real elections doubtful.
Toysurgeon, I don’t think they were attacking you, just correcting your assertion we are a purely democratic form of government; We are a democratic republic, and for the reasons stated. No need for hostilities. I agree with your anger but it would be more beneficial to end gerrymandering than getting rid of the electoral college. Redrawing lines is just another way to fix the vote.
Agree. And, the comment about American Idol was not a personal slam. I think Toy took offense too easily, and that, coupled with all the gramatical and punctuation errors, led me to believe we were dealing with a younger person here, someone who needs to study hard and finish high school. I may have been wrong. Just a guess.
As for American Idol…I love watching it, but still manage to keep up with what is going on in the world!
It is vital we keep the electoral college. Without it, pits like Baltimore would have seventeen million plus votes generated for president. Right now, no matter how many votes they create in the bowels of Baltimore, they only affect electoral votes from one state. Without the electoral college, those tons of bogus votes would affect the total of the whole country’s votes.
Concur. But there are efforts in some states to change the way their electoral votes are awarded so that they go to whomever won the nation-wide popular votes. I.e. to subvert the purpose of the Electoral College in defiance of our Founders. We must be aware of these efforts and make sure we do our part to counter them in our respective states.
My best “negro dialect”
Thays be a workin fo da man, days get ah pass.
A:Anything that moves. These thugs will even shoot black people if they “act white” or seem to get in their way.
See, I know day gots da guns. But day don’t know how manys I gots and where Iz gots ‘em. I don’t want to have to use them but I would if given no choice. I’ll bet you my aim is truer than these punks to boot.
Plus, they have only six shots a piece by the looks of their weapons. I’ll have sixteen to start.
And mine will make bigger holes. Just sayin’.
Then you have the 9th Circuit come through and say you have to let prisoners vote, because it is racist to not do so.
There’s nothing wrong with redistricting, and gerrymandering is unavoidable. You have to be able to redistrict to account for changes in population – Texas keeps gaining seats, NY keeps losing them and the suburbs keep growing as people flee the cesspools we call cities. The problem I have is that the last time we redistricted down here SCOTUS stuck their nose in and redrew districts to elect more Democrats under the excuse that only Hispanic Democrats could represent Hispanics – thus ensuring the defeat of a Hispanic Republican.
It appears the black cats are protecting the weed. Is that a weed plant? If it is, it needs some water.
Someone is going to have to train those two to be a better enemy of America. I mean, use the same kind of weapon in case yo bother gets wacked. Plus, dich the shades, ear ring, and homie clothes. Get some BDU’s, combat boots, light packs, gloves, cover…
Turn out the light too fools, your a target!
No thetoysurgeon we just disagree on the Electoral college.
I don’t believe I was condescending or hypocritical at all. I think my response was apropo to your call for abolishing the Electoral College. Without which,voting would devolve into a political American Idol, I have no doubt. In no way did I imply I was smarter than you. I merely opposed your viewpoint.
I do, however, probably put my pants on differently, seeing how mine zip up the front and not the side. I’m sorry your feelings got hurt, but if you can’t engage in a little back and forth without getting all frothy, maybe you should get back to the shallow end of the pool, because you’re way out of your depth here. (How’s that for condescension?)
It never ceases to amaze me, why our illustrious and oh so willing to hold that dialogue about race, AG Mr. Holder sees a difference somehow between a bunch of White Citizens in Missouri holding axe handles and intimidating colored voters in the 1950s and a bunch of Black Panthers holding various truncheons and cudgels intimidating white voters in the late 2000s might be except the race of the perpetrators.
Could it be he’s a closet racist?
In the meantime someone explain this, why are US blacks so taken in by Muslims as to become Black Muslims? Do they not realize who the majority of them were sold into slavery by? Let me give a couple of hints. The work Kaffir as used by the Dutch as a pejorative came from an Arabic word Kafir whose meaning was ‘idolator or unbeliever’. But was used by Muslim slavers of the Barbary Coast (Yes, Virginia that’s what all those Yankee traders were storing in the lower hold)and from Muslim blacks in Africa. They traded in people to the English, Dutch, Portugese and later with the US merchant fleets out of the New England ports in human flesh sold in markets in the English, Dutch and Portugese Colonies throughout the East and West as well as the US.
So we have an entire group of Black people who in order to throw off the stigma of slavery have accepted a false faith proclaimed by Elijah Mohammed that has all the trappings of the very people who enslaved them. How lunatic is that?
This is why there is no hope for Scott Brown becoming the next Senator from Massachusetts, even if he receives the majority of legitimate votes.
This exposes the lie that “they” wanted equality.
Looking at this picture I have to write the Producers at History Channel to do a series on Hate Groups other than “White, Aryan, Christian, Bible thumping, gun loving, Veteran, Constitution believing, Law Abiding extremist groups of America today”.
Yes, 5% is the minimum margin we need. It’s already been that way for quite a while. Alaska and Minnesota are just recent examples. I’m in my 60′s and all my life I’ve watched democrats “win” election after election when the vote was close (i.e withing stealing distance). When the R’s finally stood up to them one time (FL 2000), the D’s were outraged; by this they considered being awarded close contests to be their absolute right. Things will only get worse now. What Holder did was to send purposeful signals that even the pretense of fair elections was no longer required. “Winning” by any means necessary is now their open game. IT is not a certainty that Brown will be seated at all if he manages to win in MA. If they can delay and create enough controversy then the D’s in the Senate can use their power to be the final judge of their own membership to keep him out. This is something they SHOULD have done with Burris but he’d a D so that’s different. We can still win but we’ll need healthy victory margins and then we’ll need to go to immediate work against the corruption that already exists. It won’t be easy.
If the Republicansd take back the House, one of the first orders of business will have Mr. Holder under oath in front of a House Committee with all of his files, emails, etc. justifying this one.
Their turn to find out that elections have consequences.
MM please list the ones who voted to cover up the black panther voter intimidation. if they were white they would have been in jail along time ago.PS it’s not PC to be white these days )-;