Carey Roberts
Going rogue at the Department of Justice
By Carey Roberts
The last several months have seen a steady flow of embarrassing revelations from the U.S. Department of Justice. The very notion of justice is being transmogrified into a post-modern construct, dragging the Department into a cesspool of identity politics and indulging in an improbable parody of "equal justice under law."
Here's a run-down of the DoJ capers:
1. Mr. Holder believes white Americans are "cowards." At a February 18, 2009 Black History Month event — just days after the new Attorney General was sworn into office — Holder labeled America "essentially a nation of cowards" because we "do not talk enough with each other about race."
2. Demonstrably false statements on the DoJ website are condoned. In June 2009 the DoJ posted the report, Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violence Research, which contains numerous misleading claims about partner abuse. In June 2010, a Data Quality Act request was sent to the DoJ to remove or correct the report — but 10 months later, the DoJ has yet to respond.
3. The Attorney General wrongfully stereotyped Black men as wife-murderers. At an October 19, 2009 press conference, Holder stated, "Intimate partner homicide is the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 15 to 45." But the actual leading causes of death for these persons are cancer, heart disease, and accidents. Holder has yet to retract the statement.
4. The integrity of state elections doesn't seem to matter. In 2009, Holder's Department of Justice went after Georgia's voter verification program. The unsuccessful challenge later drew this rebuke from the Georgia Secretary of State: "The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to deny pre-clearance of Georgia's already implemented citizenship verification program shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections...Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy."
5. A social-justice agenda counts for more than Supreme Court decisions. In Ricci v. DeStefano, the Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that low test scores could not be disregarded to promote the hiring of more minority members to become firefighters. Last week, it was reported that the DoJ is compelling the Dayton Police Department to weaken its test standards to hire more minorities.
6. Snap judgments compel legal reasoning. Asked during a May 13, 2010 hearing whether he had studied the 10-page Arizona immigration law, Holder was forced to admit, "I've not read it." Holder averred he was opposed to the state law because it might promote racial profiling.
7. Mr. Holder considers black Americans — but apparently not white Americans — to be "my people." During a March 1, 2011 hearing, a congressman commented that Democratic activist Bartle Bull called the New Black Panther Party case the most serious act of voter intimidation he had ever seen. In response, a frustrated Holder blurted out that Bull's characterization "does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line, who risked all, for my people."
Then there's the nagging New Black Panther Party case, which arose when blackjack-wielding, epithet-shouting men posted themselves outside a Philadelphia polling place, frightening would-be voters away. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU
Seeking to enforce a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, the Bush Administration properly filed a lawsuit against the men. It appeared to be a no-brainer case, and the men didn't even bother to contest to allegations.
But then Attorney General Holder and his minions arrived in town and quickly moved to let the militia-garbed men off the hook.
Troubled by the apparent political motivation of the decision, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights opened a probe. By law, the DoJ is required to cooperate with CCR investigations. But despite numerous discovery attempts, the DoJ refused to answer 18 interrogatories or produce documents in response to 22 separate requests. And key DoJ employees were ordered to not testify before the Commission.
As a result, Todd Gaziano, a member of the Commission, deplored how there has arisen "a pervasive atmosphere of hostility to race-neutral enforcement, and that Loretta King [a high-level Holder appointee] led the effort."
To top off the comic routine, last week the DoJ Office of Professional Responsibility informed House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith of the result of its 19-month investigation of the DoJ's conduct. Predictably, the internal report absolved Justice of any "misconduct" in the case. But the OPR has yet to release the document to the public.
Is the word "whitewash" crossing your mind about now?
When the Senate held confirmation hearings for Eric Holder in January 2009, concerns were voiced over Holder's commitment to judicial impartiality, citing his role in President Bill Clinton's eleventh-hour pardon of Democratic contributor Marc Rich.
Two years later, a string of legally-doubtful decisions, most notably the obstruction of a Civil Rights Commission investigation, points to this conclusion: Attorney General Holder should step down.
© Carey Roberts
April 5, 2011
The last several months have seen a steady flow of embarrassing revelations from the U.S. Department of Justice. The very notion of justice is being transmogrified into a post-modern construct, dragging the Department into a cesspool of identity politics and indulging in an improbable parody of "equal justice under law."
Here's a run-down of the DoJ capers:
1. Mr. Holder believes white Americans are "cowards." At a February 18, 2009 Black History Month event — just days after the new Attorney General was sworn into office — Holder labeled America "essentially a nation of cowards" because we "do not talk enough with each other about race."
2. Demonstrably false statements on the DoJ website are condoned. In June 2009 the DoJ posted the report, Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violence Research, which contains numerous misleading claims about partner abuse. In June 2010, a Data Quality Act request was sent to the DoJ to remove or correct the report — but 10 months later, the DoJ has yet to respond.
3. The Attorney General wrongfully stereotyped Black men as wife-murderers. At an October 19, 2009 press conference, Holder stated, "Intimate partner homicide is the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 15 to 45." But the actual leading causes of death for these persons are cancer, heart disease, and accidents. Holder has yet to retract the statement.
4. The integrity of state elections doesn't seem to matter. In 2009, Holder's Department of Justice went after Georgia's voter verification program. The unsuccessful challenge later drew this rebuke from the Georgia Secretary of State: "The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice to deny pre-clearance of Georgia's already implemented citizenship verification program shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections...Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy."
5. A social-justice agenda counts for more than Supreme Court decisions. In Ricci v. DeStefano, the Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that low test scores could not be disregarded to promote the hiring of more minority members to become firefighters. Last week, it was reported that the DoJ is compelling the Dayton Police Department to weaken its test standards to hire more minorities.
6. Snap judgments compel legal reasoning. Asked during a May 13, 2010 hearing whether he had studied the 10-page Arizona immigration law, Holder was forced to admit, "I've not read it." Holder averred he was opposed to the state law because it might promote racial profiling.
7. Mr. Holder considers black Americans — but apparently not white Americans — to be "my people." During a March 1, 2011 hearing, a congressman commented that Democratic activist Bartle Bull called the New Black Panther Party case the most serious act of voter intimidation he had ever seen. In response, a frustrated Holder blurted out that Bull's characterization "does a great disservice to people who put their lives on the line, who risked all, for my people."
Then there's the nagging New Black Panther Party case, which arose when blackjack-wielding, epithet-shouting men posted themselves outside a Philadelphia polling place, frightening would-be voters away. Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU
Seeking to enforce a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, the Bush Administration properly filed a lawsuit against the men. It appeared to be a no-brainer case, and the men didn't even bother to contest to allegations.
But then Attorney General Holder and his minions arrived in town and quickly moved to let the militia-garbed men off the hook.
Troubled by the apparent political motivation of the decision, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights opened a probe. By law, the DoJ is required to cooperate with CCR investigations. But despite numerous discovery attempts, the DoJ refused to answer 18 interrogatories or produce documents in response to 22 separate requests. And key DoJ employees were ordered to not testify before the Commission.
As a result, Todd Gaziano, a member of the Commission, deplored how there has arisen "a pervasive atmosphere of hostility to race-neutral enforcement, and that Loretta King [a high-level Holder appointee] led the effort."
To top off the comic routine, last week the DoJ Office of Professional Responsibility informed House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith of the result of its 19-month investigation of the DoJ's conduct. Predictably, the internal report absolved Justice of any "misconduct" in the case. But the OPR has yet to release the document to the public.
Is the word "whitewash" crossing your mind about now?
When the Senate held confirmation hearings for Eric Holder in January 2009, concerns were voiced over Holder's commitment to judicial impartiality, citing his role in President Bill Clinton's eleventh-hour pardon of Democratic contributor Marc Rich.
Two years later, a string of legally-doubtful decisions, most notably the obstruction of a Civil Rights Commission investigation, points to this conclusion: Attorney General Holder should step down.
© Carey Roberts
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