Where’s Fox News Report That Their New Black Panther Party Case Has Been Discredited?
Reported by Ellen - March 31, 2011 -
Remember how last summer you could barely watch “objective” news program America Live without hearing about a Department of Justice “whistleblower” reporting that the DOJ had failed to prosecute a few thugs from the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation because of racial preference for African Americans? It was omnipresent until the story suddenly disappeared not long after Fox News contributor Kirsten Powers confronted Kelly for promoting a “scary black man” meme. After an on-air temper tantrum at Powers, Kelly insisted she had only been “shedding light” on a case. Then it went dark. So where’s Kelly’s “light shedding” on the results of an investigation by the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility into the case? Could it be that Kelly’s lack of interest is due to the fact that the OPR concluded that there was “no evidence to support the allegations” that either race or other improper or political considerations played a factor, that the DOJ’s decisions were founded on “a good faith assessment of the law and the facts of the case and had a reasonable basis?”
As Media Matters reported, Kelly's America Live show devoted 45 segments to this “story” in less than three weeks. Kelly also visted other shows to promote it. But on The O’Reilly Factor, she very clearly stated, in the run-up to the 2010 midterm elections, that scary black men were likely to descend on voting precincts around the country, thanks to political/racial decisions in the DOJ:
"Now you’re going to have instances like this where Black Panthers and others can go to the polling stations and do this if they so choose. And they just basically are gonna get a pass because while it’s not an official thing, it’s been made very clear to all the rank and file voting rights attorneys in the DOJ those cases are not to be pursued."
If Kelly had any real interest in “shedding light” on a case she was endlessly fascinated with (before she dropped it like a hot potato), she’d be eager to set the record straight and retract some very ugly allegations about our Department of Justice. But, although the OPR issued its findings Tuesday, March 29, 2011, Kelly has said nothing about it to date. There was nothing about it on Special Report last night, either. As I write this post, today's America Live has just ended.
In my view, the whole New Black Panther Party effort was nothing less than an effort to turn Attorney General Eric Holder into the latest ACORN. As Fox attempts to sweep this exposé of their failed exposé under the rug, have no fear, Holder haters. I have no doubt Fox will come up with more incendiary smears to overplay - and worry about truth not so much.
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