Comments on: Judge Says New Emails ‘Appear to Contradict’ DOJ Assertion in Black Panther Case http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/08/02/judge-says-new-emails-appear-to-contradict-doj-assertion-in-black-panther-case/ Politics, policy and the law at the U.S. Department of Justice Sat, 11 May 2013 16:14:31 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: JohnSteele http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/08/02/judge-says-new-emails-appear-to-contradict-doj-assertion-in-black-panther-case/comment-page-1/#comment-20770 JohnSteele Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:01:38 +0000 http://www.mainjustice.com/?p=69217#comment-20770 I enjoy this site but wish that it maintained more distance from the positions taken by the DOJ. For example, in this article the author, relying on an OPR report, repeatedly uses "however" to seeming contradict and critique the Article III judge who made findings adverse to the DOJ. But if there is a gap between the conclusions of the OPR and the judge, it isn't enough to cite the OPR as if that settles the matter. The OPR has been criticized as being a part of the DOJ that largely protects the DOJ and in this case may have drawn less reliable conclusions than the Judge did. If you are an independent news organization, you need to maintain some independence. Too many of your stories just assume that the DOJ is right and its critics are wrong. As I look into the issues, I find that I can rely on your site for some basic facts and for an articulation of the DOJ's position -- but cannot rely on your site for learning what critics think or what evidence might support the critical views. I enjoy this site but wish that it maintained more distance from the positions taken by the DOJ. For example, in this article the author, relying on an OPR report, repeatedly uses “however” to seeming contradict and critique the Article III judge who made findings adverse to the DOJ. But if there is a gap between the conclusions of the OPR and the judge, it isn’t enough to cite the OPR as if that settles the matter. The OPR has been criticized as being a part of the DOJ that largely protects the DOJ and in this case may have drawn less reliable conclusions than the Judge did.

If you are an independent news organization, you need to maintain some independence. Too many of your stories just assume that the DOJ is right and its critics are wrong. As I look into the issues, I find that I can rely on your site for some basic facts and for an articulation of the DOJ’s position — but cannot rely on your site for learning what critics think or what evidence might support the critical views.

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