In a 144-page report completed in November and released over the weekend, the commission said its lengthy investigation had uncovered "numerous specific examples of open hostility and opposition" within the department's Civil Rights Division to pursuing cases in which whites were the victims.
The report, posted on the commission's web site, said testimony obtained by the panel during its investigation included allegations that some Justice Department lawyers refused to work on cases involving white victims; that lawyers who worked on such cases were harassed and ostracized; and that some employees, including supervisory attorneys and political appointees, openly opposed race-neutral enforcement of voting rights laws.
Noting that two high-ranking lawyers in the department's Voting Rights Section testified that the hostility to race-neutral enforcement had influenced the decision-making process in the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) case, the report concluded that the Justice Department's failure to cooperate in the commission's investigation left unanswered "these serious accusations."
"While the department has issued general statements that it enforces the laws without regard to race, these assurances do not confirm, deny or explain the specific allegations of misconduct," the report said. "Unfortunately, the department has thus far refused to address many of these specific claims or to provide the type of information that would allow the commission to properly review the decision making relating to the NBPP lawsuit."
The Justice Department supervisor who recommended pursuing a voter intimidation case against members of the New Black Panther Party testified in September that the Civil Rights Division engaged in reverse racism, refusing to bring charges in voting cases unless the victim was a minority.
Christopher Coates, chief of the department's Voting Rights section when the New Back Panther case was brought, said he felt compelled to testify despite orders by Justice not to appear because of what he deemed inaccurate statements made to the commission and elsewhere by department officials defending the handling of the case.
Government by the elitists for the elitists.
12/7 Update
Special Thanks to Christian Adams at the Election Law Center for linking to us over at their blog.
