Talking Points: Could the Justice Department Have Another Scandal on Their Hands?
During tonight’s Talking Points Memo, Bill O’Reilly looked deeper into another possible scandal involving the Department of Justice. He reminded viewers of the Fast and Furious scandal which put Attorney General Eric Holder’s career on the line. The O’Reilly Factor host said, “Now we have another potential scandal that most media outlets will not report to you.”
On Election Day 2008, two New Black Panther Party members stood outside a polling place, and video shows one holding a nightstick in his hand. Following the video which was taken on a camera phone, the Bush administration filed a civil complaint against the New Black Panther Party for allegedly violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. O’Reilly reported that those involved
did not show up for the court hearing and one was found guilty of a civil violation but not punished in a significant way.
Regardless of strong evidence that the Black Panthers did violate the law, the Justice Department under President Obama refused to pursue criminal charges. A watchdog organization obtained evidence showing that District Court Judge Reggie Walton says indicates political pressure may have been at play.
The federal judge wrote, “The documents reveal that political appointees within DOJ were conferring about the status and resolution of the New Black Panther Party case in the days preceding the DOJ’s dismissal of claims in that case, which would appear to contradict Assistant Attorney General [Thomas] Perez’s testimony that political leadership was not involved in that decision.”
O’Reilly emphasized that he is not anti-Justice Department, and just last week he praised the DOJ for charging a child rapist with federal crimes circumventing a New York judge’s lenient prison sentence. He called the Black Panther ordeal another political embarrassment for the Obama administration and Attorney General Holder.
