The White House/New Black Panther Party stonewall
The Sestak scandal is just one piece of the Democratic culture of corruption puzzle — and the White House denials are just more thick pieces of the Great Stone Wall of Obama.
Case in point: I’ve covered DOJ/AG Eric Holder’s obstructionism in the New Black Panther Party case since June 2009. The indefatigable Judicial Watch continues to press for information. After repeated attempts to acquire documents through stymied FOIA requests, Judicial Watch is taking DOJ to court:
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Obama Justice Department to obtain documents related to the agency’s decision to dismiss the claims against several members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense who were accused of engaging in voter intimidation during the 2008 presidential campaign (U.S. v. New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense).
Judicial Watch filed its original FOIA request on May 29, 2009. The Justice Department acknowledged receiving the request on June 18, 2009, but then referred the request to the Office of Information Policy (OIP) and the Civil Rights Division. On January 15, 2010, the OIP notified Judicial Watch that it would be responding to the request on behalf of the Offices of the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, Public Affairs, Legislative Affairs, Legal Policy, and Intergovernmental and Public Liaison.
On January 15, the OIP also indicated that the Office of the Associate Attorney General found 135 pages of records responsive to Judicial Watch’s request, but that all records would be withheld in full. On January 26, the OIP advised Judicial Watch that the Office of Public Affairs and Office of Legal Policy completed their searches and found no responsive documents. On February 10, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division indicated that after an extensive search it had located “numerous responsive records” but determined that “access to the majority of the records” should be denied. On March 26, the OIP indicated that the Office of Legislative Affairs and the Office of Intergovernmental and Public Liaison completed searches and found no documents.
Judicial Watch appealed the determinations of the Office of the Associate Attorney General and the Civil Rights Division. To date, Judicial Watch has received neither a response regarding searches conducted by the Offices of the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, nor responses to its two administrative appeals prompting its lawsuit. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent, bipartisan unit of the federal government charged with investigating and reporting on civil rights issues, has also initiated a probe of the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss its lawsuit.
Related: DOJ Voting Rights attorney resigns over Black Panthers stonewalling…
In his letter of resignation, J. Christian Adams said:
On the other hand, the events surrounding the dismissal of United States v. New Black Panther Party, et al., after the trial team sought and obtained an entry of default, has subjected me, Mr. Christopher Coates, and potentially at some point, all members of the team, to a subpoena from the United States Commission on Civil Rights. The subpoena is based on an explicit federal statute and seeks answers about why the case was dismissed.
I have incurred significant personal expense in retaining a number of separate attorneys and firms regarding this subpoena in order to protect my interests and advise me about my personal legal obligation to comply with the subpoena. Over the last few months, one of my attorneys has had multiple communications with Federal Programs regarding the subpoena. My attorney suggested to them that the Department should file a motion in district court to quash the subpoena and thereby resolve conclusively any question about my obligation to comply.
Months ago, my attorney advised the Department that a motion to quash would be welcome, and that I would assert no objection to the motion. Further, my attorney has explicitly sought to ascertain whether Executive Privilege has been invoked regarding the decisions of individuals not in the Voting Section to order the dismissal of the case. If Executive Privilege has been asserted, or will be, obviously I would not comply with the subpoena. These options would provide some conclusive legal certainly about the extent of my obligation to comply with a subpoena issued pursuant to a federal statute. Instead, we have been ordered not to comply with the subpoena, citing a federal regulation (emphasis mine).
As I said on FNC’s Hannity show last night, the Sestak story has to be viewed in the larger context of the Obama White House’s repeated pattern of delay, denial, and corruption. It is undermining our elections, our health, our economy, and our national security.
I repeat: Sunlight is the best disinfectant, but the ballot box is the ultimate sanitizer.
Remember in November.
***
Jennifer Rubin on Holder’s stonewall:
It’s about time the courts rule on the panoply of made-up defenses and fake privileges that Holder has cooked up to avoid turning over these documents. Let the courts decide if the Obama administration can have it both ways — declining to invoke executive privilege but relying on the privilege under other names (”deliberative privilege”).
A knowledgeable lawyer e-mails me: “Notice DOJ revealed nothing about the number of panther documents in the AG and deputy AG office. Even for the associate attorney general they revealed there were 135 but they weren’t going to turn them over. Failing to even name a number is extremely suspicious because those units can be searched quicker and easier for compliant documents. It leads one to conclude any number would be an embarrassment, and a high number would be a catastrophe. So, don’t reveal a number. Typical of this non-transparent operation.”
And now we’re going to see the administration’s true colors played out in open court. As a Judicial Watch spokesman said: “If there is nothing to hide, then Eric Holder should release this information as the law requires. And this is just one more example of how Obama’s promises of transparency are a big lie.”
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Categories: Corruption,Eric Holder,New Black Panther Party
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Karma is a funny thing. Obama got elected by blaming Bush. By the time he gets out of office, Obama will be blamed for any misery that anyone feels.
Incompetence at all levels is one thing, remember Jimmah Cahtah, but incompetent thugs and scoundrels combines the worst of the Cahtah and the Clinton years. Clinton’s are corrupt, but competent, while Carter was honest but incompetent. Obozo is both corrupt and incompetent.
The whole Obama administration, from the campaign on, has been one big lie. Rep. Wilson was right on so many levels.
None of this stuff surprises me anymore.”Culture of Corruption”IS the name of this entire government.As far as the American people, you are on the dole or you are the ATM.
I know I get beat up around here every time I make this suggestion but I am going to make it again. It is a given that we are up to our ears in corruption as far as the eye can see. We need to start asking the question: how corrupt are you? We know you are taking money from banks, oil companies, pharmaceutical companies and other legitimate interests, but given that secret Islamic partnerships are building monuments on the WTC, given that you refuse to defend the border, given that China has the power to shut down our electric power grid,are you taking money from drug cartels, Islamic interests, and corrupt hostile Chinese interests?
We need to spread beyond the partisan and ask specific questions to specific people. If you are a mayor in a state like Arizona and your city looks more and more like Juarez every day with drugs, murders, kidnappings and other crime, why should we believe that you are not just as corrupt as mayors across the border? Yes mayor so-and-so, I am asking YOU!
Let’s see where that leads. Speaking in broad partisan political terms against “the establishment” sure isn’t getting us anywhere. Why are we wasting our time trying to replace corrupt Democrats with corrupt Republicans?
Now that the precedent has been set, I guess the NBPP will be competing with the Aryan Nation and the Klan for those coveted “poll watcher” positions during the next elections.
Barry Obama’s Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue Part xxxx…
Please, please, tell me it can’t get worse. I would rather be fighting Al Qaida hand-to-hand in the streets of Chattanooga than have to hear of one more horror story from our home-grown Marxists in government. Another day another debacle or act of treason.
Yes and yes but I have little faith either will prevail. I hope I am wrong but a huge part of the population has become so cynical they will vote for people they know to be both corrupt and incompetent as long as they think the next entitlement check is in the mail.
As far as a favorable ruling from the courts-that too is iffy- with dishonest, corrupt and ideological judges appointed by the said Carter, Clinton and Blue Lips we can but hope. If the Republicans can win enough Senate seats to stop the flood I do not know but at the moment the Stonewall seems to be holding. Yes Eric Holder is dishonest and perhaps incompetent but not entirely stupid-he is playing the odds. One Conservative on the Supreme Court replaced by a Progressive/fascist and the jig is up altogether.
Be it the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense or Sestak scandal they are bidding time-and it just might work. A November win would have to be huge in both chambers to be effective; huge and some backbone would help. We are up against some truly clever enemies.
So we work for our candidates, prepare for November and pray for the best. But just in case other plans must be attended to. I do not see these people going away quietly when they are so close. Be it a Reichstag fire or another 9/11 I fear Bambi and friends will do what they need to do to hold power.
===
Let your sidearm be like Master Card:
Don’t Leave home without it.
To be accurate, It will require two things in November and then again in 2012 to stop and reverse/repair the damage these chumps have inflicted on our Nation; 1) Remove the Dems, vote them out and 2) Elect strong minded, committed Conservatives that work to reverse & repair the damage. The second being the more difficult.
One of my biggest fears for a long time has been that we lose a conservative Supreme Court Judge. Just ONE, and we are toast. And WHO in the Republican party will fight tooth and nail to keep another progressive out of the Court?? Obama and his henchmen have just seven months to assure that a conservative bites the dust and can be replaced by a communist. Can he do it? Yes he can. Nothing is beyond this man. Nothing. Not when a coup is in the works and he will not accept defeat…”by any means necessary.”
Why is it that liberal presidents since Nixon all act like Nixon? The liberals heap all kinds of scorn on Nixon yet they do exactly what he did when he got caught.
At least Reagan initiated investigations and complied with them and Congress.
I disagree. This together with the Sestak cover up and any number of other attempts at evasion and obfuscation are rapidly sinking the “most transparent administration evah” ship.
The hypocricy of this absolutely reeks. If a group of white folks had intimidated and threatened black voters at a polling place the DOJ and ACLU would crucify them. But it would seem that because the perps here are black, somehow it is automatically their civil rights that must be protected.
The latest Rasmussen has Barry’s approval at 43% vs 56% disapprove – and the “passion index” is now 45% strongly disapprove.
The Good Ship Hope-N-Change is sinking fast. The ballot box will finish it.
Can’t argue with that.
Yes, Swede…the ship is definitely hitting the fan!!
Whatever happened to the “AG Holder Must Go” Campaign? jb
Another fine semantic elucidation by the scrapper.
On what effing grounds? What could be in the documents regarding these two thugs from Philadelphia that can not be made public?
The answer can only be crimes committed by the Obama administration or revealing associations that the Obama administration has with criminals.
This has to be aired and Obama and Co. have to pay the price.
The question is, do you trust the election process anymore? Given the events that surrounded the Washington Governor’s race (of a few years ago) and the Minnesota Senate race (Senator Clown-for-brains), I’m not sure I have full faith in the ballot box anymore. They seem to have found the formula for finding votes in the strangest places.
And this is off topic but to the point of the deception and affinities in the Obama administration. He’s career CIA and was around under Bush, but left, only to return to advise Obama during the election.
Surpised?
Well, the left said the same thing about the 2000 election and hanging chaff.
The White House wanting to oversee the census is definitely troubling. They wanted to use ACORN, among other resources, to do the census so they could alter districts to give more electoral votes to democrat districts.
This could possibly swing a very close election, but I’m expecting a strong conservative backlash to hope-n-change that would make their tampering irrelevant. It’s already well under way.
Rasmussen Reports
•Presidential Job Approval: Approve 43 / Disapprove 56 / Spread -13
•52% Say U.S. Not Safer Today Than Before 9/11 Attacks, Highest Level Yet
•63% Favor Repeal of National Health Care Plan
•28% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
Rasmussen polls only likely voters, so this translates at the ballot box. Libs may be able to manipulate a few points, but overcoming even a 5 point spread – leave alone 13 – and not leave a trail would be impossible.
This administration is as transparent as sewage!
And the stench is worse.
This business of selective enforcement will eventually bite Holder. He can’t continue to protect criminals from prosecution using skin color as a litmus test. How quickly would a few whites with nightsticks been removed from the poling places?
Yes, in the liberal world there are no bad people; just VICTIMS.
The more I read about Brennan the more I am convinced he is a total idiot.
Maybe we should find out……
Don’t forget that the New Black Panthers are a militant Islamist group, differing from the old BP who were by and large Marxist. The administrations love of Wahhabi groups and acceptance of Islamist doctrine is becoming fairly well documented and as we see benefits them when they need foot soldiers other than the SEIU
This whole corrupt administration and the day-to-day chaos resulting from their lying and cheating just wears me out (sigh).