Judicial Watch finds DOJ document that shows Obama politico involved in New Black Panther decision UPDATED!
By: Mark Tapscott
Editorial Page Editor
09/20/10 11:28 AM EDT

Democratic election lawyer and Obama political appointee Samuel Hirsch was deeply involved in the Justice Department decision to drop the federal prosecution of two Philadelphia New Black Panthers for voting rights violations in the 2008 president election, according to documents identified by Judicial Watch.

The documents describe eight email exchanges between Hirsch, who is Deputy Associate Attorney General, and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Steve Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum is a career attorney in DOJ.

The involvement of Hirsch in the decision contradicts sworn testimony by Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

In response to a direct question from Commissioner Peter Kirsanov about political appointees influencing the decision to drop the New Black Panther prosecution, Perez responded by saying: "No. The decisions were made by Loretta King in consultation with Steve Rosenbaum, who is the Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General."

Judicial Watch discovered the existence of the email exchanges between Hirsch and Rosenbaum as a result of a DOJ-compiled Vaughn Index in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The index describes documents that were not provided in an FOIA response by a federal department or agency.

The Vaughn Index listing, according to Judicial Watch, said the denied documents the non-profit had requested included:

"An 'Email Chain with Attachments' from Rosenbaum to Hirsch dated April 30, 2009: The email chain includes '…a detailed response and analysis of the proposed draft filings in NBPP (New Black Panther Party) litigation…The response includes a candid assessment of legal research and raises questions about the case law and proposed relief….This document also contains attorney discussion, opinions, and analyses of the draft documents and case law.'â€