The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has scheduled a hearing on the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case investigation for Feb. 12, Main Justice has learned. The commission may announce the hearing at its meeting Friday morning.
The big question is whether career Civil Rights Division laywer J. Christian Adams will testify in defiance of Justice Department orders. Adams, who has a history of conservative advocacy, was the line prosecutor who compiled the voter intimidation case against the black power group, and he has appeared eager to assist the conservative-dominated U.S. Commission on Civil Rights investigation. Adams was hired in 2005 under a process the DOJ Inspector General later concluded was improperly politicized.
Also slated to testify in the commission’s probe is Chris Hill, a Republican poll watcher and witness to the events in Philadelphia. The commission recently held depositions in Philadelphia.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department rebuffed a request from the Civil Rights Commission for more information about its decision in May to dismiss voter intimidation charges against members of the New Black Panther Party.
The Justice Department’s response is embedded below.
