Whistleblower Speaks on New Black Panther Voter Intimidation Charges

Megyn Kelly had an exclusive interview with the DOJ attorney turned whistleblower over the decision to drop charges against members of the New Black Panther party who were already convicted of voter intimidation based on their actions during the 2008 presidential election. The DOJ attorney J. Christian Adams, described to Kelly the events of what he described as a clear cut case of voter intimidation:

KELLY: Ok, and what was basically the heart of the case against them.

ADAMS: Yeah, this 1965 Voting Rights Act protects voters from voter intimidation. You’re supposed to be able to go vote without somebody with a weapon shouting racial slurs at you like these folks were doing in Philadelphia.

KELLY: What were they saying?

ADAMS: Well, they said, “You’re about to be ruled by the black man, Cracker”. They called people “white devils”. They menaced, they tapped their baton. They tried to stop people from entering the polls.


KELLY: Is there any question in your mind that that violates the law.

ADAMS: No, nor anybody that worked on the case. It’s the easiest case I ever had at the Justice Department. It doesn’t get any easier than this. If this doesn’t constitute voter intimidation, nothing will.

Video of the events as they occurred in Philadelphia can be seen here. Adams detailed his concerns and names names in an op-ed for the Washington Times:

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has opened an investigation into the dismissal and the DOJ's skewed enforcement priorities. Attorneys who brought the case are under subpoena to testify, but the department ordered us to ignore the subpoena, lawlessly placing us in an unacceptable legal limbo.

The assistant attorney general for civil rights, Tom Perez, has testified repeatedly that the "facts and law" did not support this case. That claim is false. If the actions in Philadelphia do not constitute voter intimidation, it is hard to imagine what would, short of an actual outbreak of violence at the polls. Let's all hope this administration has not invited that outcome through the corrupt dismissal.

Most corrupt of all, the lawyers who ordered the dismissal - Loretta King, the Obama-appointed acting head of the Civil Rights Division, and Steve Rosenbaum - did not even read the internal Justice Department memorandums supporting the case and investigation. Just as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. admitted that he did not read the Arizona immigration law before he condemned it, Mr. Rosenbaum admitted that he had not bothered to read the most important department documents detailing the investigative facts and applicable law in the New Black Panther case. Christopher Coates, the former Voting Section chief, was so outraged at this dereliction of responsibility that he actually threw the memos at Mr. Rosenbaum in the meeting where they were discussing the dismissal of the case. The department subsequently removed all of Mr. Coates' responsibilities and sent him to South Carolina.

Part 2 of Megan Kelly's exclusive is scheduled to be aired today. This could be explosive particularly in light of the numerous problems at DOJ during the Obama administration. I am sure this won't help Democrats in the coming midterm elections