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EXCLUSIVE: Career lawyers overruled on voting case
EXCLUSIVE: Career lawyers overruled on voting case
Jerry Seper Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews. The incident - which gained national attention when it was captured on videotape and distributed on YouTube - had prompted the government to sue the men, saying they violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by scaring would-be voters with the weapon, racial slurs and military-style uniforms. Career lawyers pursued the case for months, including obtaining an affidavit from a prominent 1960s civil rights activist who witnessed the confrontation and described it as "the most blatant form of voter intimidation" that he had seen, even during the voting rights crisis in Mississippi a half-century ago. The lawyers also had ascertained that one of the three men had gained access to the polling place by securing a credential as a Democratic poll watcher, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Washington Times. The career Justice lawyers were on the verge of securing sanctions against the men earlier this month when their superiors ordered them to reverse course, according to interviews and documents. The court had already entered a default judgment against the men on April 20. RELATED STORIES: • Panetta tries to remedy language lag in CIA • Pro-Life Catholic leader roots for Sotomayor • Obama calling for better digital security A Justice Department spokesman on Thursday confirmed that the agency had dropped the case, dismissing two of the men from the lawsuit with no penalty and winning an order against the third man that simply prohibits him from bringing a weapon to a polling place in future elections. The department was "successful in obtaining an injunction that prohibits the defendant who brandished a weapon outside a Philadelphia polling place from doing so again," spokesman Alejandro Miyar said. "Claims were dismissed against the other defendants based on a careful assessment of the facts and the law." Mr. Miyar declined to elaborate about any internal dispute between career and political officials, saying only that the department is "committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who intimidate, threaten or coerce anyone exercising his or her sacred right to vote." Court records reviewed by The Times show that career Justice lawyers were seeking a default judgment and penalties against the three men as recently as May 5, before abruptly ending their pursuit 10 days later. People directly familiar with the case, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because of fear of retribution, said career lawyers in two separate Justice offices had recommended proceeding to default judgment before political superiors overruled them. Tensions between career lawyers and political appointees inside the Justice Department have been a sensitive matter since allegations surfaced during the Bush administration that higher-ups had ignored or reversed staff lawyers and that some U.S. attorneys had been removed or selected for political reasons. During his January confirmation hearings, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said that during his lengthy Justice Department tenure, the career lawyers were "my teachers, my colleagues and my friends" and described them as the "backbone" of the department. "If I am confirmed as attorney general, I will listen to them, respect them and make them proud of the vital goals we will pursue together," he said. Justice officials declined to say whether Mr. Holder or other senior Justice officials became involved in the case, saying they don't discuss internal deliberations. The civil suit filed Jan. 7 identified the three men as members of the Panthers and said they wore military-style uniforms, black berets, combat boots, battle-dress pants, black jackets with military-style insignias and were armed with "a dangerous weapon"and used racial slurs and insults to scare would-be voters and those there to assist them at the Philadelphia polling location on Nov. 4. The complaint said the three men engaged in "coercion, threats and intimidation, ... racial threats and insults, ... menacing and intimidating gestures, ... and movements directed at individuals who were present to vote." It said that unless prohibited by court sanctions, they would "continued to violate ... the Voting Rights Act by continuing to direct intimidation, threats and coercion at voters and potential voters, by again deploying uniformed and armed members at the entrance to polling locations in future elections, both in Philadelphia and throughout the country." To support its evidence, the government had secured an affidavit from Bartle Bull, a longtime civil rights activist and former aide to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. Mr. Bull said in a sworn statement dated April 7 that he was serving in November as a credentialed poll watcher in Philadelphia when he saw the three uniformed Panthers confront and intimidate voters with a nightstick. Inexplicably, the government did not enter the affidavit in the court case, according to the files. "In my opinion, the men created an intimidating presence at the entrance to a poll," he declared. "In all my experience in politics, in civil rights litigation and in my efforts in the 1960s to secure the right to vote in Mississippi ... I have never encountered or heard of another instance in the United States where armed and uniformed men blocked the entrance to a polling location." Mr. Bull said the "clear purpose" of what the Panthers were doing was to "intimidate voters with whom they did not agree." He also said he overheard one of the men tell a white poll watcher: "You are about to be ruled by the black man, cracker." He called their conduct an "outrageous affront to American democracy and the rights of voters to participate in an election without fear." He said it was a "racially motivated effort to limit both poll watchers aiding voters, as well as voters with whom the men did not agree." The three men named in the complaint - New Black Panther Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz, Minister King Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson - refused to appear in court to answer the accusations over a near-five month period, court records said. Justice Department Voting Rights Section Attorney J. Christian Adams complained in one court filing about the defendants' failure to appear or to file any pleadings in the case, arguing that Mr. Jackson was "not an infant, nor is he an incompetent person as he appears capable of managing his own affairs, nor is he in the military service of the United States." Court records show that as late as May 5, the Justice Department was still considering an order by U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell in Philadelphia to seek judgments, or sanctions, against the three Panthers because of their failure to appear. But 10 days later, the department reversed itself and filed a notice of voluntary dismissal from the complaint for Malik Zulu Shabazz and Mr. Jackson. That same day, the department asked for the default judgment against King Samir Shabazz, but limited the penalty to an order that he not display a "weapon within 100 feet of any open polling location on any election day in the city of Philadelphia" until Nov. 15, 2012. Malik Zulu Shabazz is a Washington, D.C., resident. Mr. Jackson was an elected member of Philadelphia's 14th Ward Democratic Committee, and was credentialed to be at the polling place last Nov. 4 as an official Democratic Party polling observer, according to the Philadelphia City Commissioner's Office. Efforts to reach the Panthers were unsuccessful. A telephone number listed on the New Black Panthers Web site had been disconnected. The complaint said that the three men were deployed at the entrance to a Philadelphia polling location wearing the uniform of the New Black Panther Party and that King Samir Shabazz repeatedly brandished a police-style nightstick with a contoured grip and wrist lanyard. According to the complaint, Malik Zulu Shabazz, a Howard University Law School graduate, said the placement of King Samir Shabazz and Mr. Jackson in Philadelphia was part of a nationwide effort to deploy New Black Panther Party members at polling locations on Election Day. The New Black Panther Party reportedly has 27 chapters operating across the United States, Britain, the Caribbean and Africa. Its Web page said it has become "a great witness to the validity of the works of the original Black Panther Party," which was founded in 1966 in Oakland, Calif. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...ng-case/print/
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#2
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Whitewashing the Panthers
posted at 6:38 pm on December 29, 2009 by Dafydd ab Hugh The attempt to stonewall investigation into the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party — the case was dismissed by Attorney General Eric Holder (the first black attorney general!, a fact the NBPP seems to find of great significance) and Barack H. Obama (the first black President!, ditto) even after the Justice Department won it by default — has just taken another stupifying turn: The administration booted Christopher Coates, the voting-rights section chief who signed off on the complaint against the Black Panthers, out of the prestigious D.C. office and down to South Carolina: The veteran Justice Department voting rights section chief who recommended going forward on a civil complaint against members of the New Black Panther Party after they disrupted a Pennsylvania polling place in last year’s elections has been removed from his post and transferred to the U.S. attorney’s office in South Carolina.I suppose there could be an innocent explanation; I understand Coates graduated from the University of North Carolina… mayhap he was just pining for the Carolinas and reckoned either one of ‘em would do. But coming at the end of such a timeline of scandal, it’s a bit thick:
First, the administration of Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder seems single-mindedly obsessed with crushing the voter-intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party, preventing any outside investigation into said crushing, and punishing those who participated (under the previous administration) in bringing the case in the first place… those who naively believed that the point of the Voting Rights Act was to protect the voting rights of all the people, not just black liberals. And second, I would recommend to J. Christian Adams that he get his resume in order… just in case. I think we can find the key to unlock this mystery in the accusation leveled by New Black Panther Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz, from today’s Washington Times story: Party members have not returned numerous telephone messages and e-mails for comment, but told the Associated Press earlier this month in Dallas that the Justice Department was correct in dismissing the complaint. Malik Shabazz described the complaint as a “political witch hunt” aimed at discrediting Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. — the first black man to be named to the post.I believe the order to kill the case came directly from Holder, if not from Obama himself, for several reasons:
But Panthergate has become an out of control boiler; as the heat rises, so does the pressure. Eventually it will blow skywards, and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. Perhaps Christopher Coates will come to feel grateful for his exile to South Carolina, where he is less likely to be scalded by the superheated steam. http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives...-the-panthers/
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#3
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This entire matter just irritates the crap out of me.
It is, in fact, the prime example of why I did not want Mr. Obama to be elected... not so much because he himself would advocate, but that he appears to be almost unconscious of the degree to which OTHERS will do so. Instead of softening the last remaining vestiges of racism, his administration is exacerbating them, by neglect or intent. One shred of hope is that the great majority of the rest of us are simply sick and tired of having to deal with any of it anymore. |
#4
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Panel: Justice stonewalling on Panthers
Jerry Seper
President Obama or Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. should declare publicly whether executive privilege has been invoked in the Justice Department's refusal to release documents showing why voter-intimidation charges against the New Black Panther Party were dismissed, says the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Declaring an impasse in negotiations between the commission and the department, Commission Chairman Gerald A. Reynolds said the Justice Department has "repeatedly refused" to provide any basic information regarding the case, instead asserting "vague and generalized privileges" that do not apply. "The actual basis for the department's continued refusal to cooperate with the commission remains unclear," Mr. Reynolds said in a letter last week to Mr. Holder. "For example, has the president invoked executive privilege over the materials that the commission is seeking? If that is the case, the president or the attorney general must so state. "The department's continued refusal to provide the requested information will lead to a conflict of interest, whereby the target of the subpoena — the department — can evade its statutory obligation to the commission by refusing to respond to or enforce the commission's subpoena," he said. Mr. Reynolds asked Mr. Holder to respond by April 12 on whether he intends to cooperate in the inquiry "as is required by law," whether he would direct his subordinates to do so, and if he intends to allow Justice Department employees to respond to the commission's subpoenas to testify. He said the department had "rebuffed each offer made by the commission" to meet to discuss and resolve the issues. Justice Department officials did not respond to e-mails from The Washington Times seeking comment on the commission's letter. In January, the department refused to turn over documents sought by the commission to explain why a civil complaint was dismissed against members of the New Black Panther Party who disrupted a Philadelphia polling place in the November 2008 elections. In a 38-page response, the department objected to "each and every" question and document request submitted by the commission, saying the subpoenas violated privacy and privilege concerns, and were burdensome, vague and ambiguous. The department also said the requested information was protected by the attorney-client privilege or were not subject to disclosure because they included attorney or law-enforcement work products. It also refused to release any information about an investigation of the New Black Panther Party case by its Office of Professional Responsibility, saying the review was privileged information or was covered by the Privacy Act. In an accompanying letter, Joseph H. Hunt, director of the Justice Department's Federal Programs Branch, which oversees litigation matters, said the department was "constrained by the need to protect against disclosures that would harm its deliberative processes or that otherwise would undermine its ability to carry out its mission." Also in January, the Justice Department refused to release e-mails and other documents sought under an open-records request by The Times in the New Black Panther Party case, despite acknowledging that 69 documents, totaling 135 pages, were responsive to the request. The Times had sought copies of e-mails between officials in the Civil Rights Division and the Office of the Associate Attorney General regarding the litigation strategy, drafts of court filings and briefing materials related to the case. The commission issued subpoenas on Dec. 9 demanding records showing why a civil complaint against the New Black Panther Party and three of its members was dismissed after a federal judge in Philadelphia ordered default judgments in the case. The New Black Panther Party members had refused to respond to the charges or to appear in court. The Justice Department's Voting Rights Section was in the final stages of seeking the judgments when Loretta King, serving as acting assistant attorney general, ordered a delay. The delay came after she met with Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli, the department's No. 3 political appointee, who approved the dismissal, according to interviews with department officials who sought anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case. A civil complaint was filed by the Voting Rights Section in January 2009 in Philadelphia against the party after two of its members in black berets, black combat boots, black shirts and black jackets purportedly intimidated voters with racial insults, slurs and a nightstick. A third party member was accused of managing, directing and endorsing their behavior. The incident was captured on videotape. Four months later, the Justice Department dropped the charges, saying "the facts and the law did not support pursuing" them. Among the documents being sought by the commission are those regarding any communications between Mrs. King, Mr. Perrelli and Mr. Holder about the case. The civil complaint accused Minister King Samir Shabazz, head of the Philadelphia chapter, and Jerry Jackson, a Philadelphia party member, of intimidating voters at the polling place. A third party member, Chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz, a lawyer and D.C. resident, was accused of directing and endorsing their behavior. The party members have not been available for comment. The department obtained an injunction against Mr. Samir Shabazz that prohibits him from brandishing a weapon outside a polling place until 2012. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-stories-today
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#5
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The "New" BPP is the Obama administration's "crazy uncle", a chronic hoarder with an insatiable 200-year chip on its shoulder.
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#6
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Only in Philly: Black Panther on the Ballot!
by Mike Roman Jerry Jackson, notorious member of the New Black Panther Party, who was seen in the video below intimidating and threatening voters in 2008, is running for re-election as a member of the Democratic Executive Committee in Philadelphia. Here is the “sample ballot” for the 14th Ward, 4th Division. A sample ballot is posted outside of each polling location. You can see Jackson is listed first in a field of three. The top two vote getters will be elected to a four year term as a member of the Democratic Executive Committee. In 2008, Jackson was issued a certificate by the Democratic Party to be inside of the polling place where he was seen intimidating voters. Jackson and King Samir Shabazz were originally indicted for intimidating voters, but the Department of Justice spiked the case. No reports of Jackson or Shabazz at the polls yet. http://biggovernment.com/mroman/2010...t/#more-121714
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#7
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DOJ Voting Rights attorney resigns over Black Panthers stonewalling By: J.P. Freire Associate Commentary Editor 05/18/10 6:40 PM EDT A trial attorney with the Department of Justice’s Voting Rights Section has resigned, citing concerns about the government’s refusal to prosecute a case involving voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party. A letter of resignation obtained by The Washington Examiner from a former Justice Department employee makes clear DOJ has refused to allow attorneys in the Voting Rights Section to testify before the congressionally-chartered bipartisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, despite subpoenas that could result in their being held in contempt. 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.Adams also cites his knowledge of the criminal character and “violent tendencies of” members of the New Black Panther Party, saying: As you also know, the defendants in the New Black Panther lawsuit have become increasingly belligerent in their rhetoric toward the attorneys who brought the case. (See eg., April 23, 2010 statement of Malik Zulu Shabazz, http://www.newblackpanther.com/usccrphony case statement.pdf, describing the “phony case” brought by “the modern day racist lynch mob seeking to hang what [we] think .are [our] modern slaves.”) Their grievances toward us generally echo the assertions that the facts and law did not support the lawsuit against them, ab initio. Knowing intimately the criminal character and violent tendencies of the members of New Black Panther Party, it is my profound hope that these assertions are tempered.This follows the departure of another attorney, who before transferring to South Carolina, read a statement to a surprised “goodbye luncheon” about his opposition to the way the case is handled (see here). More updates to follow. The document is below: J. Christian Adams resignation letter 051910 UPDATE: The New Black Panthers' website appears to be down. You can read Malik Zulu Shabazz's statement over at Main Justice. Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/doj-voting-rights-attorney-resigns-over-black-panthers-stonewalling-94202249.html#ixzz0oQUZIv2f
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New Black Panther Party President Admits to Philadelphia Voter Intimidation; Holder’s Justice Department Still Silent
by Larry O'Connor “You know we don’t carry batons…. PSYCHE! Heh heh heh… I’m just playin’” – Malik Zulu Shabazz, Preident of The New Black Panther Party. The Justice Department has seen fit to drop voter intimidation charges against Malik Shabazz’ New Black Panther Party’s involvement in the now infamous events at a polling place in Philadelphia on November 4, 2008. In light of the recent testimony by former DOJ attorney J. Christian Adams before the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, the story is gaining further attention and scrutiny. Now, Breitbart.tv is featuring a newly discovered video showing Shabazz boasting about his organizations intentions that day in Philadelphia. “There were strong intelligence indicators that there was going to be some trouble at the polls and we wanted to make sure the police were not harassing our people so we wanted to go out and do what we could. It’s just that sometimes the New Black Panther Party, sometimes, whatever we do we just tend to do it kinda strong.”Finally, Shabazz instructs his disciples that as soon as a “Black man” took over the Justice Department the charges were thrown out. This new video is even more damning to the Obama Justice Department given the astounding testimony by Mr. Adams: “I was told by Voting Section management that cases are not going to be brought against Black defendants for the benefit of White victims. That if somebody wanted to bring these cases, it was up to the US Attorney but the Civil Rights Division wasn’t going to be bringing it.”Under these new revelations and the increasing pressure from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, how long can Attorney General Eric Holder allow the perception to remain that crimes under his watch are only enforced if the victims and the perpetrators fit the correct racial profile? http://biggovernment.com/sright/2010...t/#more-142918
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#9
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Joy & Blue,...
We concerned Americans can bitch about many obvious (since proved time & again) Voter Frauds, Voter Deceits & Thuggish Voter Intimidations as much as liked,...and to no avail whatsoever.
The reason Americans now have no recourse whatsoever to obvious Progressive Political Tyranny is spelled out by 5 letters,...O-B-A-M-A. Also, TOTAL CONTROL of U.S. Government, Congress, DOJ & pretty-much overall Mainstream Press/Media easily permits just that. Obama blaming Republicans/Conservatives for ANYTHING not passed by Congress are FLAT-OUT-LIES!!! Republicans now have about as much Officialdom say-so,...as The Boy or Girl Scouts of America do. Hell,...Hitler, Stalin, Mao & Marx never had it so good. Whatever: "His Barackness" wants (or not) WILL BE,...and that's that. Barry or Barack simply will not politically appoint ANYONE not a totally obedient lacky or ring (or whatever) kisser. Those preferring nailing whites SOLELY to the cross for: "Pay-back" are also main prerequisites for Obama's current political position selections . Preferring Islam over Infidel Faiths is very helpful for being chosen ALSO,...of course. Neil
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My Salute & "GarryOwen" to all TRUE Patriots. |
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“High-level” political officials interfered in NBPP case, forced withdrawal
Share194 posted at 10:32 am on October 29, 2010 by Ed Morrissey printer-friendly The US Civil Rights Commission has concluded in an extensive report that the strange decision to dismiss a case the Department of Justice had won by default against a New Black Panther Party activist for voter intimidation came after the involvement of political appointees. Furthermore, and most embarrassing, the 131-page report accuses the Department of Justice of attempting to cover up that involvement, and that the cover-up came from “high-level” officials in the DoJ. The USCRC concludes that the Civil Rights Division is “at war with its core mission”: The Justice Department has tried to hide the involvement of high-level political officials in the dismissal of a controversial voter-intimidation lawsuit against members of the New Black Panther Party, a federal commission concluded in a draft report.The news comes at a particularly and obviously bad time for the White House. One of the more secondary messages this election cycle from Democrats was a claim that a new Republican majority in the House would do nothing but conduct vendettas against the Obama administration. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) would become the chair of the Oversight Committee and already has this case on his radar. This report strongly suggests that Congress needs to start demanding accountability from the executive branch, and that Democrats have utterly failed in their constitutional duty to provide it. It also poses a conundrum for all of those who screamed about the politicization of the Department of Justice during the Bush administration. The claims centered on the requests for resignations of political appointees in order to emphasize a focus on vote fraud, which critics charged was an abuse of power — even though political appointees serve at the pleasure of the President at all times, with the exception of the judiciary. Now we have solid evidence of not just politicization of prosecution decisions, but a political cover-up as well. Will we get the same level of demands for inquiries now? And I’m not just talking about elected officials, either. Will the media give this the kind of coverage that a political cover-up deserves? http://hotair.com/archives/2010/10/2...ed-withdrawal/
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