Official Lied Under Oath About Dismissal of New Black Panther Case

[Casino67]

Fox News:

A former Justice Department attorney who resigned last month in protest of the Obama administration's handling of a voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panther Party accused a top Justice official of lying under oath about the circumstances surrounding the decision to drop the case.

J. Christian Adams, now an attorney in Virginia and a blogger for Pajamas Media, told Fox News in an exclusive interview that aired Wednesday that Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez provided false testimony in May to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, which is investigating the department's decision to drop charges against three members of the radical group in a case that the government won.

Perez told the commission that the facts and the law didn't support the case against the group.

"I know about the truth…and I know what the truth is and I know to say the facts and law don't support the Black Panther case is not true," Adams said, adding that Perez ignored his warnings not to provide false testimony.

"We made it very clear that continuing to say that the facts and the law don't support this case would not be consistent with the truth," he said.

Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler called Adams' allegations "baseless."

"It is not uncommon for attorneys within the department to have good faith disagreements about the appropriate course of action in a particular case, although it is regrettable when a former department attorney distorts the facts and makes baseless allegations to promote his or her agenda," she said in a written statement provided Wednesday.

In the final days of the Bush administration, three Black Panthers -- Minister King Samir Shabazz, Malik Zulu Shabazz and Jerry Jackson -- were charged in a civil complaint with violating the Voter Rights Act in November 2008 by using coercion, threats and intimidation at a Philadelphia polling station -- with Shabazz brandishing what prosecutors called a deadly weapon.

The Obama administration won a default judgment in federal court in April 2009 when the Black Panthers didn't appear in court to fight the charges. But the administration moved to dismiss the charges in May 2009. Justice attorneys said a criminal complaint against one of the Panthers, which resulted in the injunction, proceeded successfully.

The department "is committed to comprehensive and vigorous enforcement of both the civil and criminal provisions of federal law that prohibit voter intimidation. We continue to work
with voters, communities, and local law enforcement to ensure that every American can vote free from intimidation, coercion or threats," Schmaler said.

But Adams told Fox News that the department's decision to dismiss the case reeked of racial politics and corruption.

"I don't think the department or the fine people who work there are corrupt, but in this particular instance, to abandon law-abiding citizens and abet wrongdoers constitutes corruption," he said.

Adams said he quit last month after the department ordered attorneys to ignore a subpoena from the commission.

"After being ordered not to comply with the lawful subpoena, after hearing the lies that are being said about the case, after the corruption that we had witnessed in the case, I just said that's it, that I resign and now I'm no longer there," he said.

Adams also said the department has been caught lying about the case, including the assertion that the decision to dismiss the charges was made only by Loretta King, acting head of the civil rights division, and Steve Rosenbaum, an attorney with the division.

Citing a Washington Times article, Adams said Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, the No. 3 official in the department, was responsible for the decision. He also said a written response from the department to the commission revealed that Attorney General Eric Holder was also briefed on the case.

"The initial statements of the department are being proved in hindsight to be false," he said.

When asked whether Holder signed off on the decision to dismiss the case, Adams said, "I can't answer that. We were just doing our job. We didn't even know these things. We thought we had a good case. We thought it's all going to be over with soon and we're going to win. And then it wasn't."

But Adams noted that a former Justice Department official testified to the commission that it would be "unheard of" for a decision like this to be made without the attorney general's blessing.
___________________________________________

Has anyone seen anything about this matter anywhere else? I just heard Sessions mention it at the Kagan hearings. He said a hearing needed to be held about it. Hopefully it happens.

At the site is the video of the interview.

[NCTexan]

Voter intimdation?

 

Nothing to see here... move on or I'll cap your cracker head!

 

 

[Argyle58]

Has anyone seen anything about this matter anywhere else? I just heard Sessions mention it at the Kagan hearings. He said a hearing needed to be held about it. Hopefully it happens.

 

At the site is the video of the interview.

 

 

This has been one of those "back burner" stories that has been out there since January of 2009. I guess the press was waiting for someone in government to make a stink before reporting heavily on it.

 

A story from the day after November 3, 2008 polling:

 

http://mrssatan.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-panther-voter-intimidation.html

 

From May of last year:

 

http://thebulletin.us/articles/2009/05/29/top_stories/doc4a1f42b32c161287079901.txt

 

From February of this year:

 

http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/19922

[Casino67]

I have a more sinister opinion as to why the story is being ignored. One, Fox is promoting it and we know they can't accept a Fox story. And two, the MSM has to protect the 0 at all costs. Let's see how long it takes for another broadcast or cable news show to pick up on this.

[Valin]

I have a more sinister opinion as to why the story is being ignored. One, Fox is promoting it and we know they can't accept a Fox story. And two, the MSM has to protect the 0 at all costs. Let's see how long it takes for another broadcast or cable news show to pick up on this.

 

 

 

The only story I have found in NY Times, Washington Post, Google news is Ex-Justice Dept lawyer says whites' rights ignored

 

By JESSE WASHINGTON (AP) – 3 hours ago

 

PHILADELPHIA — A former Justice Department lawyer accuses his ex-superiors of ignoring white voters' rights in the case of black radicals charged with voter intimidation in Philadelphia.

 

Witnesses say two members of the New Black Panther Party threatened white voters on Election Day 2008. One of the men carried a nightstick.

 

The U.S. Justice Department dropped most charges against the men and their organization, citing a lack of evidence. The man with the nightstick was the only one prosecuted.

 

J. Christian Adams, one of the lawyers who filed suit against the men, criticizes that decision. He says it's part of a pattern where the Justice Department declines to prosecute blacks for voting discrimination against whites.

 

Department spokesman Tracy Schmaler says the law is enforced equally for everyone. She says the charges were dropped because they were not supported by the facts or the law.

 

 

Now this story may or may not be true (I think it's the former), but it seems to me this is an important story and deserves better coverage than this.

[pollyannaish]

This is a very touchy issue and they know it. It is wrong and I believe everyone in the press knows it...but they've backed themselves in such a politically correct box they are in complete fear of the monster of their own making.

[Casino67]

I have been off-line for a week now and have missed so much. One thing I can't find using 'search' is that I can't find a link to the hearing the Congress held with Mr. Adams testifying. Does anyone know of a link?

[NCTexan]

This is a very touchy issue and they know it. It is wrong and I believe everyone in the press knows it...but they've backed themselves in such a politically correct box they are in complete fear of the monster of their own making.

I don't think that we have any news to report this week....

 

... maybe we can do another update on Lindsay Lohan!

[Argyle58]

I have been off-line for a week now and have missed so much. One thing I can't find using 'search' is that I can't find a link to the hearing the Congress held with Mr. Adams testifying. Does anyone know of a link?

 

 

I don't believe Adams ever testified before Congress on this case, it was Asst A.G. Thomas Perez who testified and, according to Adams, committed perjury while doing so.

[Valin]

I have been off-line for a week now and have missed so much. One thing I can't find using 'search' is that I can't find a link to the hearing the Congress held with Mr. Adams testifying. Does anyone know of a link?

 

Have you searched at C-Span? The are supposed to cover all open hearing, I thought.

 

In the meantime There's this.....

 

 

And this....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9fg4IziviM&feature=player_embedded

 

 

 

Of course there is always the Front Page of the NY Times....I bet they're all over this story

[Casino67]

Thanks Valin. I did check at CSPAN first. Searched every way I could and nothing is there. Apparently it is not going away, Fox is having someone on tomorrow at 9AM to talk about it. As I said in another post, it seems to be spiraling towards the top to the WH. Oh, and I think Adams did testify after he resigned from the DoJ. After he quit, they could not control him.

[Casino67]

Well I finally found a transcript of Perez's testimony. To me he came across as a real smart ass. When he was giving long winded answers and a commissioner interrupted, he would say 'may I finish'? Kept trying to run out the clock. He was questioned pretty strongly about whether someone said they would not file against blacks against whites, but said he never heard that. We now know six other attorneys did hear it.

 

Anyway, it runs 117 pages and can be found here.

[Argyle58]

Thanks Valin. I did check at CSPAN first. Searched every way I could and nothing is there. Apparently it is not going away, Fox is having someone on tomorrow at 9AM to talk about it. As I said in another post, it seems to be spiraling towards the top to the WH. Oh, and I think Adams did testify after he resigned from the DoJ. After he quit, they could not control him.

 

Adams tesified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, not the U.S. Congress. It will be interesting to see how the the Commission will interpret his testimony.

 

The Commission is an independent body of six members, two each are appointed by the President of the U.S., The Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

 

Current members of the Commission are:

 

Gerald A. Reynolds, Chair – Kansas City attorney and former Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights.

Abigail Thernstrom, Vice Chair – Manhattan Institute political scientist and former member of the Massachusetts Board of Education.

Gail Heriot – University of San Diego law professor.

Peter N. Kirsanow – Cleveland attorney and former member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Arlan D. Melendez – Chairman and Chief Executive, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony.

Ashley L. Taylor, Jr. – Richmond attorney and former Deputy Attorney General of Virginia.

Michael Yaki – San Francisco attorney and former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Todd F. Gaziano – Senior Fellow in Legal Studies and the Director of the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

 

It is interesting to note that the NAACP lobbied the commission to not let Adams speak. So much for ending racism in America.

[Valin]

Well I finally found a transcript of Perez's testimony. To me he came across as a real smart ass. When he was giving long winded answers and a commissioner interrupted, he would say 'may I finish'? Kept trying to run out the clock. He was questioned pretty strongly about whether someone said they would not file against blacks against whites, but said he never heard that. We now know six other attorneys did hear it.

 

Anyway, it runs 117 pages and can be found here.

 

 

Thanks.

Can't think of a better way to spend a fine summer afternoon, than reading congressional testimony!

We're talking serious party time!