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September 24, 2010

Devastating Black Panther voter intimidation testimony today (updated)

Thomas Lifson
Christopher Coates, former voting chief for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, has given powerful testimony this morning, under oath, about the dismissal of charges against members of the New Black Panther Party who carried truncheons at a polling place in Philadelphia. Fox News reports:

Coates went in depth about a controversial decision to dismiss charges against New Black Panther members after they were videotaped outside a Philadelphia polling place in 2008 dressed in military-style uniforms and allegedly hurling racial slurs while one brandished a night stick. 

The case has drifted in and out of the limelight over the past year as the commission has struggled to investigate it. Ex-Justice official J. Christian Adams fueled the controversy when he testified in July and accused his former employer of showing "hostility" toward cases that involve white victims and black defendants. 

Nearly three months later, Coates backed up Adams' claims. In lengthy and detailed testimony, he said the department cultivates a "hostile atmosphere" against "race-neutral enforcement" of the Voting Rights Act. [...]

He said civil rights attorneys stick to cases that involve minority victims and that the Black Panther case was dismissed following "pressure" by the NAACP and "anger" at the case within the Justice Department itself. 

"That anger was the result of their deep-seated opposition to the equal enforcement of the Voting Rights Act against racial minorities and for the protection of white voters who have been discriminated against," he said. 

This outrageous behavior by the top law enforcement agency of the United States, denying equal protection of the law to white voters, has the potential to seriously damage AG Eric Holder, and the man who appointed him, Barack Obama, and the entire Democratic Party. The DoJ's inspector General is already investigating, and and if Republicans control, the House of Representatives next year, we can expect serious investigation armed with subpoena power.

Zoe Lofgren's contemptible summoning of satirist Steven Colbert to testify before her committee -- only to have the comedian be asked to leave by the more level-headed John Conyers -- may well have been a diversionary effort, to suck away the media spotlight. It no doubt will succeed in helping the liberal media to ignore the explosive Coates testimony, but the liberal media no longer have the power to deep six stories that embarrass their Democrat allies.

The Obama Justice Department is doing its best to create the impression among the white majority that it regards them as second class citizens. As further details emerge, the damage to Obama and the Democrats will grow worse, I predict.

Update:

Andrew Breitbart points out that in July 2009, just as Republicans were beginning to raise questions about the DoJ dropping the case, someone named Malik Shabazz -- the same name as the leader of the New Black Panthers in this case -- visited the White House, as revealed by White House logs made public. However, oficials deny that it is the same man. However, they will not identify the other man purportedly carrying the same name.

Breitbart - and soon Republicans -- deamnds that the White House identify the other Shabazz, if he indeed exists. If it turns out that the defendant actually visited the White House, this becomes even more serious a scandal, raising the possiblity of presidential interference (obstruction?) in a prosecution. 

The idea that an individual named Malik Shabazz had a private meeting in the White House residence in July 2009 is highly relevant because throughout July, Congressmen Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) were beginning to ask questions about to the dropped charges against the NBPP. So was the United States Commission on Civil Rights.  Here is a timeline, according to Adams:

  • July 8, Representative Frank Wolf sent a letter to Judiciary Chairman John Conyers and Ranking Member Lamar Smith demanding hearings before the House Judiciary Committee.
  • July 9, Ten members of the House sent a letter demanding the DOJ Inspector General open an investigation.
  • July 13, The Dept. of Justice replied but their letter contained factual inaccuracies about the case
  • July 17  Smith and Wolf send a swift and pointed rebuttal
  • July 20, Low-level DOJ staffers were sent to the Hill to brief Wolf on the Panther story, but Wolf threw them out of his office claiming they weren't being truthful to him.
  • July 22, Wolf sent another letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding answers.
  • July 24, Portia Robinson, intergovernmental liaison at DOJ, sent a letter to the Civil Rights Commission trying to deflect attention.
  • July 25, a man named Malik Shabazz visited the exclusive, private residence in the White House.
  • July 30, the Washington Times broke the news that top political appointee, Tom Perrelli (the #3 official at Justice) was involved in the dismissal of the case.  Perrelli was also a top campaign bundler for Obama.
The White House has assured the American people that the Malik Shabazz that visited the White House at that time is not the same Malik Shabazz at the center of the New Black Panther story.  But, the White House has not provided any information to verify its contention or who this "other" Malik Shabazz is.




Hat tip: Lucianne.com

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