Editorial
The Washington Times
1/19/2010
The question all along, just as it had been with the Bush Justice Department, has been whether the Obama Justice Department interfered with ongoing investigations for political reasons, and whether that interference came from the White House itself. The Washington Times superimposed the known timeline of decisions on the Black Panther case with White House visitor logs. Here’s what we found:
March 12, 2009:
The Senate confirms Thomas J. Perrelli as associate attorney general of the United States. He does not visit the White House during the next 11 days.
March 23:
Pursuant to the court’s notice, the lawyer team on the case (Christopher Coates, Robert Popper, J. Christian Adams and Spencer R. Fisher) presents its draft motion for “Request for Entry of Default” to the acting division chiefs (Loretta King and/or Steven H. Rosenbaum).
March 24:
Mr. Perrelli sets up a White House visit with White House Associate Counsel Susan Davies. The meeting occurs the following day.
Late March:
Kristen Clarke, director of political participation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, reportedly asked department officials to drop the case. It is unusual for the department to share its deliberations with outside groups that are not part of the case – especially when the department later claims attorney-client confidentiality as a reason for not discussing its decision-making, even after the fact, with Congress or an independent government commission.
April 1:
The day the Black Panthers miss their deadline to contest the charges against them, Mr. Perrelli meets at the White House with Deputy White House Counsel Cassandra Butts, herself a former lawyer for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
April 2:
With no objection yet from Ms. King, the clerk for U.S. District Judge Stewart R. Dalzell enters the default judgment against all four original defendants.
April 8:
Mr. Perrelli and fellow Justice Department political appointee Spencer Overton again meet with Ms. Butts at the White House. Mr. Overton is the author of “Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression,” which criticizes Republican efforts at “ballot security.” Mr. Overton is a noted critic of requiring voters to show identification at the polls.
April 17:
Judge Dalzell issues an order recognizing that the Black Panthers were in default and giving Justice until May 1 to file their official Motion for Default Judgment.
April 22:
Mr. Perrelli again meets with Ms. Butts.
This article continues at The Washington Times.
From WhoRunsGov.com, Who is Thomas J. Perrelli and why he matters.
Perrelli has known Obama since their days at Harvard Law School, and he served directly under Obama as managing editor of the Harvard Law Review when Obama was president. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Perrelli was one of Obama’s biggest fundraisers, bundling more than $500,000.
At the same website, Who is Cassandra Butts and why she matters.
Butts is a part of President Barack Obama’s Harvard Law School clique, and she describes herself as being “as close to Barack as anyone in law school.”
Please watch this important video Civil Rights Attorney on Accusations vs. DOJ
Bartle Bull reacts to former DOJ attorney on Black Panther case, with Megyn Kelly.
And in this video Megyn Kelly discusses the significance of this timeline, and the relationships between Mr. Perrelli, Ms. Butts, and President Obama, and the impact upon the Black Panther case.
