Republicans Push For New Black Panther Hearing

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Congress

The seven Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee chairman, calling for a hearing on potential "widespread politicization and possible corruption" in the Justice Department, The Hill reports.

The call for a hearing is tied to allegations that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been politicized, as evidenced by a decision to drop most of a federal lawsuit against members of the New Black Panther Party, who were videotaped allegedly intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place on Election Day in November 2008.

The incident took place in a predominantly African-American, Democrat-voting district.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said in a letter earlier this month it had evidence raising "serious concerns" about whether the department's policies "are being pursued in a race-neutral fashion."

Former Justice Department lawyer J. Christian Adams, who was hired under the Bush administration and developed the case against the New Black Panther Party, testified to the Commission on Civil Rights that the case was narrowed in an effort to protect minorities. The allegation prompted a firestorm in the conservative media. The Justice Department denied that it makes decisions about which cases to pursue based on anything other than their merits.

In their letter, posted here by Politico, the seven GOP lawmakers quoted Adams' claim that within the Civil Rights Division there is "open hostility toward equal enforcement in a colorblind way."

They write: "It is imperative that you schedule a hearing immediately so we can determine the validity of these claims and whether DOJ, as Mr. Adams testified, 'abetted wrongdoers and abandoned law-abiding citizens.'"

As the Washington Post's Greg Sargent notes, the Senate Judiciary Committee already held a hearing on the Civil Rights Division back in April, where Republicans pressed Justice officials on the New Black Panther case. That heading was before Adams made his claims.

There are two investigations underway into the situation, including one from the Commission on Civil Rights, which is expected to release a report in September.

Abigail Thernstrom, a Bush appointee and the vice chair of the Commission, said on Sunday's "Face the Nation" that "We certainly have no direct evidence that anybody in the Justice Department said 'We're not going to prosecute this case because we have racial double standards: We protect blacks, we don't protect whites.'"

Thernstrom argued that "the evidence is extremely weak" for racial bias within the department tied to the case.

Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund countered that "the Justice Department is stonewalling subpoenas issued by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights" and said not all the facts in the case are yet known.

"Two African-American poll watchers testified they were intimidated," he said. "We saw testimony that the voters said they turned around and said they would came back; we don't know if they ever came back."

Fund said there was a pattern of "consistent politicization" in the Justice Department, pointing to Voting Rights Act decisions in the South.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by CarloCaraluzzo January 19, 2011 9:32 AM EST: Fact: Bush was recieving money from the Bin Laden Family for nearly 35 years.
Fact: The Bin Laden family?s money manager was a personal friend of the Bush family.
Fact: The government was speculating on terrorists using commercial aircraft for years before 9/11
Fact: All possible air inception was sent to other locations
Fact: The owner of the Trade Center just insured the buildings months before against acts of terrorism.
Fact: The way the buildings imploded is against the laws of physics
Fact: Many people heard massive explosions UNDER the buildings, including building 7.
Fact: Physical evidence has been found to suggest that thermate was actully used to bring the buildings down.
Fact: The Bush administration pushed back EVERY effort to investigate the attacks.

Now in light of this my question is that if the Republicans are so interested in JUSTICE where are the calls to investigate all of the above? Another misdirection from the right.; Reply to this comment


by 4liberalbias July 27, 2010 3:53 PM EDT: do you think glen beck will try to shoot the nice people at the new black panther's party on august 28th? beck doesn't like parties and he may do everything he can to disrupt the celebration and fesitivities including the picnics.; Reply to this comment


by _One_American____ July 27, 2010 3:10 PM EDT: Bob Schieffer just left on another vacation - he needs an alibi for his ignorance!; Reply to this comment

by dadirt July 27, 2010 1:51 PM EDT

Why should it be a push! The government has the film, the news media doesn't want to play it because it makes blacks look prejudice and we all know that cannot be! The media shuold be pushing it as well. Do your damn job news media! I am sure the Target story is just as damning and important as this story. How about the president and his administration involvement in the Lockerbe let loose. What about the 2 letters teh president doesn't want brought out. Again, anti Obama, stay away?

Reply to this comment


by RMax304823 July 28, 2010 12:15 AM EDT: "The news media doesn't want to play it"? Are you kidding. We've all seen it on the mainstream TV media and read about it in the mainstream press.


by book_of_wally July 27, 2010 1:47 PM EDT: I see the republicans are wasting taxpayer dollars with these useless hearings again.; Reply to this comment

by Len_RI July 27, 2010 1:35 PM EDT

IRREFUTABLE FACT: The criminal case against the New Black Panthers was abandoned by the Bush administration on January 7th, 2009. For those of you actually following the truth, that was about 2 weeks BEFORE Obama took office.

So, the truth is that there are republicans who are trying to smear the Obama administration with this bogus story of reverse race discrimination, and those republicans should be called what they are -- Liars.

Reply to this comment


by _One_American____ July 27, 2010 3:35 PM EDT: Completely refutable - because it's a lie.

AG Holder was the one to make the decision to drop the case - after the New Black Panthers pleaded no contest.

How could Holder make that decision BEFORE he was appointed by Obama?

The fact is, he couldn't.

by Bisk1 July 27, 2010 12:56 PM EDT

It would seem that this group of 7 Individuals have the entire GOP apparatus in a crazy fit - now this includes the tea party racists and all the fringe GOP groups that have continually mentioned these band of 7 stupid blacks. Why do the Repug Party have such little faith in the DOJ or even our intelligence and enforcement agencies ?? Next it's gon be 'Restoring America's Honour' with strictly NeoCon REPUBLICAN Speakers at the site of MLK's speech and on the same exact day - but Repugs don't just seem to see these things going on by their leaders. Dumb Dumb Repugs !!

Reply to this comment


by luadda22 July 27, 2010 1:39 PM EDT: If this had been 7 stupid KKK members in their sheets at a polling place in Alabama and the Bush Justice Department had refused to prosecute, you would have blown so high we would have to use a putty knife to scrape you off the ceiling.


by CarloCaraluzzo January 19, 2011 10:00 AM EST: Its called misdirection. Point in one direction while you are doing bad things in another. Its the same with Bin Laden. Created by the Reagan/Bush administrations to cause confusion for the Russians and when they were done with Russia they are now using them to confuse Americans. And how long was daddy Bush head of the CIA? People are so damn DENSE!!!

by thy-only_king July 27, 2010 12:33 PM EDT

"widespread politicization and corruption" in the Justice Department

No , you must be kidding.

Reply to this comment


by us_1776 July 27, 2010 12:37 PM EDT: Of course, it's still full of Bush appointees after Gonzales had anyone who wasn't a rightwinger purged from the department. - Remember all the firings?

.


by luadda22 July 27, 2010 1:30 PM EDT: us-1776 What was it, like 11 that Bush fired? In 1993 Clinton fired every United States attorney then serving - except one, Michael Chertoff, then U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, who was kept on only because a powerful New Jersey Democrat, Sen. Bill Bradley, specifically requested his retention. You think this was not done for political reasons?