Replies to post #102348 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[StephanieVanbryce]

Decision not to pursue criminal charges was made by Bush DOJ, not Obama

Bush DOJ, not Obama, made decision not to pursue criminal charges. Before President Bush left office, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint asking for an injunction against the New Black Panther Party and some of its members. In his May 14 testimony before the Commission on Civil Rights, Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez explained that the Bush administration's Justice Department "determined that the facts did not constitute a prosecutable violation of the criminal statutes" but did "file a civil action on January 7th, 2009." From Perez's testimony:

PEREZ: Moving to the matter at hand, the events occurred on November 4th, 2008. The Department became aware of these events on Election Day and decided to conduct further inquiry.

After reviewing the matter, the Civil Rights Division determined that the facts did not constitute a prosecutable violation of the criminal statutes. The Department did, however, file a civil action on January 7th, 2009, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief under 11(b) against four defendants.

Embedded links http://mediamatters.org/research/201007070020

[StephanieVanbryce]

Adams admits he lacks first-hand knowledge to support his accusations

Adams: "I don't know. I wasn't there." During the June 30 edition of America Live, Kelly hyped what she called Adams' "explosive new allegations." But during the interview, Adams relied on hearsay and things that others said to support his allegations. For example, after claiming that a Justice Department attorney "threw [a] memo at" another attorney, Kelly asked, "What was the response? I mean, that's an extraordinary story," and Adams replied, "I don't know. I wasn't there."

Adams admits he did not talk to the attorneys he said made the decision not to pursue additional charges. During the interview, Kelly asked Adams, "So, what happened at the Department of Justice to get you to the point where you literally snatched defeat from the jaws of victory?" Adams said: "[W]hat happened was -- and it's been -- there's been testimony -- we were ordered to dismiss the case. We were told, 'Drop the charges against the New Black Panther Party.' " Kelly asked, "Who told you that?" Adams responded, "Well, the testimony's been that Steve Rosenbaum and Loretta King, two political officers at the department, ordered the dismissal of the case [emphasis added]." Kelly then asked Adams, "Did you, personally, speak with Mr. Rosenbaum and Ms. King about the dismissal of this case?" Adams responded: "No. Chris Coates and Bob Popper did. Two other attorneys."

Adams: "[T]here are some things I'm not going to reveal as far as who they are. They know who they are." During the interview, Adams suggested his allegations about the decisions surrounding the case were evidence of "a pervasive hostility to bringing these sorts of civil rights cases." Kelly asked Adams whether the DOJ has "a policy now of not pursuing cases if the defendant is black and the victim is white." At one point, Kelly also asked, "Who specifically has issued that mandate?" Adams responded, "[T]here are some things I'm not going to reveal as far as who they are. They know who they are."

No voter has alleged intimidation stemming from incident

Civil Rights commissioner: "No citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting." In an April 23 hearing on the DOJ's decision in the case, Civil Rights Commissioner Arlan Melendez stated that "no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting," which "was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did." From the April 23 Civil Rights Commission hearing:

MELENDEZ: My remarks are going to be brief because I think far too much of our time has been consumed on this seemingly unnecessary investigation. Citizens should be able to vote without intimidation, and it is our Commission's duty to investigate complaints from citizens that their voting rights have been infringed.

In this case, however, no citizen has even alleged that he or she was intimidated from voting at the Fairmount Avenue Polling Station in 2008. This absence of voter intimidation was clear to the Justice Department last spring, which is why they took the course of action that they did.

This absence of voter intimidation was clear to the members of this Commission as well, or at least it should've been. Our investigation has been going on now for the better part of a year. We have wasted a good deal of our staff's time, and the taxpayers' money.

Main Justice: "No voters at all in the Philadelphia precinct have come forward to allege intimidation." A July 2 Main Justice article reported that "no voters at all in the Philadelphia precinct have come forward to allege intimidation," adding, "The complaints have come from white Republican poll watchers, who have given no evidence they were registered to vote in the majority black precinct." [ http://www.mainjustice.com/2010/07/02/on-fox-news-ex-civil-rights-division-lawyer-blasts-doj/ ]

Embedded links
http://mediamatters.org/research/201007070020