DOJ Clears DOJ in New Black Panther Case

Just in case you were worried, the Obama Justice Department wants to reassure you that the Obama Justice Department did nothing wrong in abandoning the default conviction of two members of the New Black Panther Party caught on video intimidating voters outside of a Philadelphia polling station on election day in 2008.

According to the Washington Post there's nothing more to see here, so move on:

The Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has concluded an investigation finding that politics played no role in the handling of the New Black Panther Party case, which sparked a racially charged political fight.

After reviewing thousands of pages of internal e-mails and notes and conducting 44 interviews with department staff members, the OPR reported that “department attorneys did not commit professional misconduct or exercise poor judgment” and that the voter-intimidation case against the Panthers was dismissed on “a good faith assessment of the law” and “not influenced by the race of the defendants.”

This "news" is not likely to assuage criticism of the Justice Department who failed to prosecute the offenders to the full extent of the law.  Meanwhile, the US Civil Rights Commission has come to a vastly different conclusion about the case and the DoJ’s Inspector General is still investigating improper procedure.

PS--Will Congress take action?