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

Suspect Arrested in Times Square

I posted news of this as it was breaking over at Potluck. Since that time Attorney General Eric Holder(see video)  held a press conference shortly after 1:30 AM Eastern. The suspect Shahzad Faisal of Shelton CT was arrested while attempting to board a plane to Dubai at JFK Airport. Reuter's adds the following details from the press conference:

"It's clear that the intent behind this terrorist act was to kill Americans," Holder said at an early morning news conference. "We continue to gather leads in this investigation, and it's important that the American people remain vigilant."

Sources said the arrested man is believed to be the buyer of the 1993 Nissan sport utility vehicle used to carry the crude bomb made of fuel and fireworks into Times Square as it was packed with people on a warm Saturday evening.

For New Yorkers who bore the brunt of the September 11 attacks by al Qaeda militants in 2001, the scare was a reminder that their city of 8 million people is under constant threat.

"Investigators who were tracking the man were also exploring whether he or others who might have been involved in the attempted bombing had been in contact with people or groups overseas," the Times said, citing unnamed federal officials.

The overseas connection is significant.  Though he is a naturalized citizen of the United States, Faisal is of Pakistani origin.  He recently returned to the United States after spending several months in Pakistan.  As the investigation continues there will certainly be a focus on potential connections to Pakistani Taliban:

The Taliban in Pakistan said on Sunday it planted the bomb to avenge the killing in April of al Qaeda's two top leaders in Iraq. New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Bloomberg have said there was "no evidence" to support that claim.

But former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel, who oversaw an Obama administration strategy review on Afghanistan and Pakistan last year, cautioned against dismissing a possible role of the Pakistani Taliban in the failed car bomb.

"They have said they want to attack inside the United States," Riedel said before the Times report, adding there was "a very serious possibility" the incident involved "some Pakistani-American who has never built a car bomb before in his life but who is being coached either by phone or Internet."

In other words, pay no attention to anything Mayor Bloomberg has to say about the investigation.  I suppose that means we can safely rule out the tea partier irate over health care legislation theory.   I suppose we can expect an apology from Bloomberg shortly after the Obama administration reconsiders that whole open hand/unclenched fist strategy.