Race Matters When Holder Decides Whether To File Charges
Yesterday, President Obama spoke on the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman, saying,€ The jury has spoken,€ and that Americans should respect the €call for calm reflection€ by Martin's parents. €In the wake of the verdict, I know those passions may be running even higher,€ Obama said. €But we are a nation of laws.€
Yet, even before a jury had been picked, Obama's Department of Justice was gathering details on the shooting in preparation of possible civil rights charges against Zimmerman. It's no secret in Washington that Attorney General Eric Holder has a bias against white people. One former employee remarked that Holder has a race card in his wallet. In one of his first speeches, Holder accused the U.S. of still being racist. He has also looked the other way when blacks have been accused of violating voting rights laws.
A section of the Justice Department was also involved in the funding and organizing of protests demanding that Zimmerman be charged. The department, however, claims that it dispatched agency representatives to reduce tensions in the community - not to take sides.
In his first post-verdict comments, Holder confirmed Monday during a speech in Washington, D.C., that his department continues to investigate while signaling concern for the position of the Martin family and those €" such as the NAACP €" pressuring the DOJ. He said the department is €mindful of the pain felt by our nation€ over the €tragic, unnecessary shooting death€ of Martin.
Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP is a close friend of Holder, and agreed to Jealous' request to keep investigating. Holder will also be speaking to the NAACP on Tuesday.
€The Department of Justice's Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, as well as the evidence and testimony from the state trial,€ the Justice Department said in a statement Sunday.
€Experienced federal prosecutors will [now] determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction, and whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the Department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial.€
He added that the shooting provides an opportunity to speak €honestly€ about the charged issues involved in the case, and that €we must not €¦ let this opportunity pass.€ Holder even appeared to suggest the possibility of bias in this case, saying it's important to address €underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs and stereotypes that serve as the basis for these too common incidents.€
Some in the media have made the charge that the Sanford, Fla. Police Department, the agency that investigated the shooting, may have a problem with race, and it needs to be €looked into.€
Under pressure from the DOJ, the state's attorney was replaced for failing to file charges. Florida Gov. Rick Scott appointed Angela Corey as the special prosecutor in the case. The next day, she filed murder charges, opting not to present the case to the grand jury that would have heard the case on April 10, 2012.
In her now futile attempt to convict Zimmerman, she submitted a misleading affidavit and withheld evidence from the defense. She fired the man who worked for her who revealed that information from Trayvon's phone was not handed to the defense as required by law.
Asked about the DOJ filing civil rights charges, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney indicated that President Obama would keep his distance from the consideration, adding that the merits of the case will be €evaluated by the professionals at the Department of Justice.€
The FBI interviewed dozens of people in the course of probing possible racial bias, but could find no evidence of racism on Zimmerman's part.
Yet, even before a jury had been picked, Obama's Department of Justice was gathering details on the shooting in preparation of possible civil rights charges against Zimmerman. It's no secret in Washington that Attorney General Eric Holder has a bias against white people. One former employee remarked that Holder has a race card in his wallet. In one of his first speeches, Holder accused the U.S. of still being racist. He has also looked the other way when blacks have been accused of violating voting rights laws.
A section of the Justice Department was also involved in the funding and organizing of protests demanding that Zimmerman be charged. The department, however, claims that it dispatched agency representatives to reduce tensions in the community - not to take sides.
In his first post-verdict comments, Holder confirmed Monday during a speech in Washington, D.C., that his department continues to investigate while signaling concern for the position of the Martin family and those €" such as the NAACP €" pressuring the DOJ. He said the department is €mindful of the pain felt by our nation€ over the €tragic, unnecessary shooting death€ of Martin.
Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP is a close friend of Holder, and agreed to Jealous' request to keep investigating. Holder will also be speaking to the NAACP on Tuesday.
€The Department of Justice's Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, as well as the evidence and testimony from the state trial,€ the Justice Department said in a statement Sunday.
€Experienced federal prosecutors will [now] determine whether the evidence reveals a prosecutable violation of any of the limited federal criminal civil rights statutes within our jurisdiction, and whether federal prosecution is appropriate in accordance with the Department's policy governing successive federal prosecution following a state trial.€
He added that the shooting provides an opportunity to speak €honestly€ about the charged issues involved in the case, and that €we must not €¦ let this opportunity pass.€ Holder even appeared to suggest the possibility of bias in this case, saying it's important to address €underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs and stereotypes that serve as the basis for these too common incidents.€
Some in the media have made the charge that the Sanford, Fla. Police Department, the agency that investigated the shooting, may have a problem with race, and it needs to be €looked into.€
Under pressure from the DOJ, the state's attorney was replaced for failing to file charges. Florida Gov. Rick Scott appointed Angela Corey as the special prosecutor in the case. The next day, she filed murder charges, opting not to present the case to the grand jury that would have heard the case on April 10, 2012.
In her now futile attempt to convict Zimmerman, she submitted a misleading affidavit and withheld evidence from the defense. She fired the man who worked for her who revealed that information from Trayvon's phone was not handed to the defense as required by law.
Asked about the DOJ filing civil rights charges, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney indicated that President Obama would keep his distance from the consideration, adding that the merits of the case will be €evaluated by the professionals at the Department of Justice.€
The FBI interviewed dozens of people in the course of probing possible racial bias, but could find no evidence of racism on Zimmerman's part.