It has been months since the Eric Holder Justice Department agreed to begin an internal investigation by the Office of Professional Responsibility into the dismissal of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case. Rep. Frank Wolf has continued to bird dog Holder and Justice, inquiring about the status of the investigation and whether they will share the results. He’s been rebuffed at every turn and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has likewise gotten the back of the hand, a flurry of specious privileges and objections to the Commission’s request for documents and information.
On January 26, Wolf took another stab, writing to the Inspector General of Justice Glenn Fine about the status and requesting that the IG take over the investigation. Wolf expressed doubts as to whether OPR was “capable of conducting an unbiased and independent review.” On February 2, Fine responded, revealing an ongoing power struggle within Justice and a peek at what OPR is up to. Fine notes that he has long been seeking statutory authority to allow the IG to investigate all matters within Justice as do other departments’ IG’s. He explains that Congress has not responded to his pleas and that the jusrisdiction over allegations of attorney misconduct remains with OPR. (As an aside, many conservatives opposed consolidating all internal invetigatory power within the IG’s office, concerned that this organization had its own biases and would become a rogue entity within the department.)
But Fine also says that he’s checked with OPR and, by gosh, they really are looking into the New Black Panther Party case. He tells Wolf they have “gathered documents and other relevant materials” and have interviewed witnesses, with more on tap. (This conflicts with other reports that Capitol Hill sources and I have received, according to which the voting-section trial team in the voter-intimidation case has not been thoroughly debriefed on the political interference with the case from Obama officials.) Fine assures Wolf that OPR will report back to Congress.
However, there is another avenue for extracting information about the case. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is holding its first hearing on the matter next week in Washington on February 12. We may finally get some details on the case. What we won’t have — at least yet — is the cooperation of the Justice Department. Holder continues to stonewall, keeping OPR busy churning paperwork but never seemingly able to reach an end to the investigation. It is yet one more example of the consequences of one-party rule and the absence of significant Congressional oversight. Wolf, to his credit, is writing letters; but the power to hold Congressional hearings and to demand documents remains with the Democratic majority. They, of course, have no interest in getting to the bottom of this. Let’s see if the Commission has any better luck.
