Changes in the Civil Rights Division

Just three days after our series Bush League Justice exposed the dismal record of this Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, in particular the voting rights section, now we learn that the head of that division, John Tanner, is "resigning" effective immediately. For weeks, civil rights advocates had been calling for his ouster. We're glad to see that somebody is finally listening, but this is just the first step.

As we discussed, from 2001 to 2006, not one voting discrimination case was brought on behalf of African-American voters. New hires to the division were evaluated on their loyalty to far-right conservative principles and encouraged to fight cases of religious, rather than racial, discrimination. Tanner and his team twisted the voting section's goals by focusing on alleged voter fraud cases that target minorities rather than protecting them. He even once made the absurd comment that a Georgia law, pushed forward by Republicans, which required voters to have photo IDs would affect whites more because "minorities don't become elderly the way white people do: They die first."

Tanner is now celebrating his accomplishments in an e-mail to his staff. We are not going to allow this effort to distort his record to go unchallenged as they send him to another, far less high-profile Justice Department job. There were also questions swirling about Tanner's travel on the taxpayer dime. So why is he landing another job in the department?

On Monday we will extend our Bush League Justice series to address a number of important issues relating to Tanner and the department. We want to ensure that the new attorney general selects a replacement ready to fight for the very people that the voting section, and the Civil Rights Division in general, was designed to protect. This is an opportunity for Attorney General Michael Mukasey to demonstrate that he is serious about civil rights and prepared to start eliminating the stink of partisanship that has permeated this once-apolitical department.

As we completed our Bush League Justice series this week, we promised that we would be watching. We are, and we will, and so Bush League Justice is back on Monday. See you then.

This post first appeared on Dan Abrams' blog on MSNBC.com.

Comments

[tumblewind]

I will make a point of watching Dan Abrams program right after Keith Olbermann. I already knew a lot of this was taking place. Their isn't anyone attached to Bush Administration who hasn't been cleared as a 'good rabid toe the mark Republican' to get their job. It's just sad they have taken it to the extreme. That the Justice Department no longer represents American's but a political ideology that George Bush wants to infest the country with.

[furion4865]

Dan's commentary fails to address the overwhelming number of civil rights investigations involving police and prosecutorial misconduct in cases involving the false imprisonment of African-Americans and political dissenters that were simply dropped after DOJ had made initial determinations that grieving parties civil rights had indeed been violated. I believe it's fair to say, the Bush Administration's DOJ, Civil Rights Division's mandate was to advance the power of the white majority, while suppressing or rescinding any advancements made by minorities over the last forty years. African-Americans and other minorities need to realize that any rights granted by the majority can be rescinded by the majority under the right circumstances, and as this is the case, we should remain vigilant and not take for granted the minimal freedoms we currently enjoy. If all of the illegal immigrants were deported tomorrow and there wasn't anyone left willing to perform the resulting low paying, labor-intensive positions and it became a matter of "National Security" that these jobs be filled, who do think the federal government is going to force into these jobs? That's right, poor whites and black folks, and your individual civil rights won't be worth the paper their written on, I know it sounds far-fetched, but so did Orwell's 1984 and now look at what's happening. With all that has transpired over the last seven years, is there anyone left that beleves our government isn't capable of implementing such a program?

EYES WIDE OPEN.

[delicado]

Thanks Dan, you and Keith Olberman are a nightly godsend. Look forward to the programs M-F., but on weekends, I miss this "good stuff".

[Usiku]

It is encouraging that some media actually provide the public with information that is the truth and that matters.
It is a dangerous and debilitating, yet widely-held notion among supposedly educated adults that the media (mainstream) informs us when in fact it actually tells us stuff to control our thinking, thus our behavior and thus our resources - money being chief among those.

[Dansden]

Great work, Journalist Dan!

We knew you had it in you and we're glad you let it out for all America to confirm it and celebrate it!

As I wrote you last week on your email @ MSNBC,
I appreciate the candor and truth that we have so longed awaited by all the journalists!

How about dropping the real truth and defining the "F" bomb that we all know about- FASCISM- let's hear the definition of Fascism and see it on the natioopnal news so the American public can judge for ourselves:

Do the tenets of Fascism reflect the policies, programs, decisions and activities of the Bush Administration?

If its the truth, what would you hide it from the American public?
If its not the truth, why not show the tenets to see if it is or NOT?

We call it: democracy-
giving citizens the opportunity to know the truth and the knowledge to distinguish the truth from lies and deceptions!

[TWOSHORT]

How much longer will it take so that i a Black Man can walk amoung the rest of Americans without needing protection from those i walk amoung?We live in FEAR and until Whites ask us do we live in fear of driving while black,Being treated fairly in courts of laws around america.How much longer before i know freedom?

[JerryWalden]

Good for you, Dan. Very nice to see you finally coming out, following Keith Olbermann's lead, I'm sure. Bush is too, too bad and too, too corrupt to just leave it go.

[jacknab]

Dan, I think you are asking too much of Attorney General Michael Mukasey. He has to take baby steps like cleaaning the toilet bowel in his private office bathroom before you can expect him to do anything like getting serious about cleaning the stinch from seven years of Bush's appointment. By the way, he should have that bowel cleaned by Jan 22, 2009.

[DemandTruth]

Well, I'm glad to see you're finally doing YOUR JOB and investigating and reporting the damage this Administration has done/is doing to our country every moment they're in power.

You're about SEVEN YEARS TOO LATE, but I appreciate it anyway.

I'm glad to see KO is rubbing off on you when it comes to the truth and reporting on the rampant misdeeds of this Administration.

Could we have more of this and less about expensive haircuts, please?

[Elliott32]

Thanks, Dan. Expose it all!

[Grandmother]

Oh my God did the President ask him to resign or did he do this voluntarily. Let's parse the language. Who made the announcement. Get Sam Stein over here to see if he was asked to leave or if he left voluntarily. See Sam's post on Hillary Clinton's comments this morning about the recent resignation of her NH chairman. Big debate about her supposed contradiction of words proving once again that she is a LIER. Did they ask him to leave or did he leave on his own accord. That is the question.

[anonmouse]

Thanks for your wonderful shows last week! I was astounded at what you uncovered (though not surprised at all). Looks like you had an effect. Keep up the good fight!

[realpolitic]

Great job, Dan! Now if only the remaining Bush administration players would hand in their resignations and go collectively into the night, beginning with Bush and Cheney. Never has our well-meaning functions of government been so turned on its collective heads by ideologues and those whose loyalty to Bush trumps any loyalty or respect for the constitution. These ideologues have narrow, rigid agendas, such as prosecuting reverse-di­scriminati­on cases, and Bush gives them carte blanche to serve these agendas at the expense of the public good and our most vulnerable citizens. Orwell can only smile as he turns over in his grave. The irony is lost only on George Bush himself.

[lgillooly]

You and Keith are doing a great job,but could you please drop the Paris/Britney junk.
Also,could you get Matthews to stop bashing Clinton every day. I may not vote for her,but he is ridiculous with the stupid nitpicky campaign stuff.We are DESPERATE for real news,not the gossipy,horse race stuff that he does every day. Tucker has to go also.

[Pookie2112]

Good job, Dan - keep up the good work. Now ... if you can only get those two tools running the country, Tweedledumb (Darth) and Tweedledumber (Chimpy) to haul ass, I'd be a VERY happy woman ...