Kathianne
07-30-2010, 04:45 PM
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/breaking-sen-leahy-d-vt-denies-civil-rights-commission-request-to-investigate-new-black-panther-case/
BREAKING: Sen. Leahy (D-VT) Denies Senate Judiciary Request to Investigate New Black Panther Case
Posted By Hans A. von Spakovsky On July 30, 2010
As the scandal over the dismissal of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) voter intimidation case percolates in the media, letters have been flying through the corridors of power.
On July 22, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) sent a letter to President Obama demanding that he appoint a special counsel to look into the Justice Department’s handling of the case.
On July 28, Gerald Reynolds — chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights — sent Attorney General Eric Holder another letter once again demanding the testimony of Christopher Coates, who had been previously subpoenaed by the Commission. The former career chief of the Voting Section at the Civil Rights Division, Coates recommended that the lawsuit against the NBPP go forward.
Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has exchanged letters with the Committee’s seven GOP members, who demanded that an investigation be opened.
On July 29, Leahy denied their request in a letter filled with factual and legal errors.
At the Civil Rights Commission, what has grated most throughout its investigation is Holder’s refusal to let Coates testify about what happened in the NBPP case. Holder has a clear conflict of interest here, yet the Commission must rely on the Justice Department to enforce its subpoenas and Holder has refused to appoint a special counsel.
Also galling is the Justice Department’s flimsy justification for its stonewalling: a vague claim of “deliberative process” privilege. As the Commission has correctly noted, such a claim is insufficient to override the Justice Department’s statutory duty to comply “fully” with all Commission requests for information, as outlined in 42 U.S.C. §1975b(e).
The only exception to this statutory mandate is if the president claims executive privilege, something Obama has specifically not done in relation to the NBPP case.
The Justice Department has even tried to justify its refusal to supply witnesses or other information by claiming that it “is constrained by the need to protect against disclosures … that otherwise would undermine its ability to carry out its mission.” This sweeping and specious assertion approaches bad faith. It attempts to create a privilege that would cover any and all policy-related work at the Justice Department.
There is no such privilege.
...
BREAKING: Sen. Leahy (D-VT) Denies Senate Judiciary Request to Investigate New Black Panther Case
Posted By Hans A. von Spakovsky On July 30, 2010
As the scandal over the dismissal of the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) voter intimidation case percolates in the media, letters have been flying through the corridors of power.
On July 22, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) sent a letter to President Obama demanding that he appoint a special counsel to look into the Justice Department’s handling of the case.
On July 28, Gerald Reynolds — chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights — sent Attorney General Eric Holder another letter once again demanding the testimony of Christopher Coates, who had been previously subpoenaed by the Commission. The former career chief of the Voting Section at the Civil Rights Division, Coates recommended that the lawsuit against the NBPP go forward.
Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has exchanged letters with the Committee’s seven GOP members, who demanded that an investigation be opened.
On July 29, Leahy denied their request in a letter filled with factual and legal errors.
At the Civil Rights Commission, what has grated most throughout its investigation is Holder’s refusal to let Coates testify about what happened in the NBPP case. Holder has a clear conflict of interest here, yet the Commission must rely on the Justice Department to enforce its subpoenas and Holder has refused to appoint a special counsel.
Also galling is the Justice Department’s flimsy justification for its stonewalling: a vague claim of “deliberative process” privilege. As the Commission has correctly noted, such a claim is insufficient to override the Justice Department’s statutory duty to comply “fully” with all Commission requests for information, as outlined in 42 U.S.C. §1975b(e).
The only exception to this statutory mandate is if the president claims executive privilege, something Obama has specifically not done in relation to the NBPP case.
The Justice Department has even tried to justify its refusal to supply witnesses or other information by claiming that it “is constrained by the need to protect against disclosures … that otherwise would undermine its ability to carry out its mission.” This sweeping and specious assertion approaches bad faith. It attempts to create a privilege that would cover any and all policy-related work at the Justice Department.
There is no such privilege.
...