In response to the letter by Susan Leeper, “Corruption exposed,” Friday, July 16: A few glaring omissions must be filled before we begin accusing “the lazy, liberal, national media” of not reporting or the attorney general for not prosecuting the New Black Panther Party for alleged crimes committed in Philadelphia in November of 2008. Once the holes are filled, the reader may want to take the road to a different perspective.
It cannot be denied that some amateur with a cell phone camera picked up a person, calling himself King Samir Shabazz, holding what appears to be a nightstick and saying some racist things about white voters. He is flanked by two others who appear to agree with him. Before we harken back to the 1960s version of the Black Panther Party, we should be aware that a Justice Department investigation of the New Black Panther Party in Philadelphia concluded that this entire movement consisted of the three men in the picture.
Former DOJ attorney, J. Christian Adams, who is said to have given numerous interviews on the case, was in the Justice Department during the Bush administration. What Adams and the radio talk show hosts, as well as the only cable television outlet to report the “scandal”, Fox News, omit from their rhetoric is the date on which the case against Shabazz was dropped. According to federal court records, the DOJ reported that it did not have a sufficient case and all charges should be dropped on Jan. 7, 2009.
Once these omissions are inserted, new questions should be asked, first and foremost, which DOJ are we talking about? President Obama was sworn in on Jan. 20. Eric Holder was not confirmed as attorney general until the end of February. The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department did not have a confirmed leader until June due to Republican obstruction in the Senate. That is the problem with both the premise of Leeper’s letter and the continued insistence by the Right that the current administration will not prosecute this case. The case was dismissed by the Bush administration!
But why won’t Eric Holder reopen the case? First, he may have more on his plate than to go after three misguided souls in Philadelphia. Second, he is an attorney and might know something about the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that pesky prohibition against double jeopardy. Third, he and the entire Obama administration are by now used to the daily baiting they get on dozens of issues from talk radio loonies, Fox News propaganda, and local editorial writers who depend upon no other sources for their information.
Ron Weitbrecht, Gilbert
—
Letters policy: Click here to submit a letter. Please be brief (no more than 300 words) and type or print name, address, city and phone number for verification. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Loubo1 posted at 8:41 am on Sat, Jul 17, 2010.
Misguided souls? Name one positive thing the Black Panthers have ever done. That's what I thought. And they call white people racists. It is what it is. The video of this idiot speaks for itself.
samkat posted at 3:16 pm on Sat, Jul 17, 2010.
Unfortunately, rather than striving for racial harmony, the Obama administration seems to be on a get "Whitey" vendetta. Case in point: The jury just tried and convicted the individual in Oakland. Now, Holder wants to investigate to see if the deceased individual had his civil rights violated. We already know from testimony before the Civil Rights Commission that the political appointee, Julie Fernendez gave direction to not pursue civil rights complaints brought by White persons against Blacks and Hispanics. This in itself is proof positive that we have an unequal justice system working (or not working). In the case of the Black Panthers, Cassandra Butte, the White House Counsel, and former counsel for the NAACP is the key figure in the case being dropped by the DOJ. While I am not a tea party member nor do I have any desire to be, we have the NAACP denouncing them. For what I might ask? I am a skeptic. I believe in factual proof and an application of some judicious judgment in cases of fuzzy gray areas. That seems to be lacking with the liberals these days.
Masterrogue666 posted at 4:05 pm on Sat, Jul 17, 2010.
Ron:
Answer me this. If it was three white guys stating making similar statements, I'm quite sure the cops would have done something....