Report Finds "Mistrust" & "Polarization" Inside Justice Department Over Voting Rights
The law protecting the voting rights of Americans should be applied equally and without discrimination. According to the Justice Department's Inspector General, that is not happening inside the Justice Department.
In a 180-page report released this week, the IG said it's lengthy investigation revealed "several incidents in which deep ideological polarization fueled disputes and mistrust that harmed the functioning of the voting section.”
At the same time, the report focused on what many consider to be a systematic problem inside the DOJ - applying voting rights laws unequally - even using race in determining which cases are prosecuted.
Here's an important conclusion from the IG found on page 252 of the report:
"Polarization within the Voting Section has been exacerbated by another factor. In recent years a debate has arisen about whether voting rights laws that were enacted in response to discrimination against Blacks and other minorities also should be used to challenge allegedly improper voting practices that harm White voters. Views on this question among many employees within the Voting Section were sharply divergent and strongly held. Disputes were ignited when the Division’s leadership decided to pursue particular cases or investigations on behalf of White victims, and more recently when Division leadership stated that it would focus on “traditional” civil rights cases on behalf of racial or ethnic minorities who have been the historical victims of discrimination."
As I told Megyn Kelly on FOXNews today, there is a troubling institutional incompatibility about how the voting rights law is applied. The bottom line: the DOJ must apply the law in a neutral manner. Race should not be an issue. You can watch the interview here.
The IG report is getting a lot of attention and as you might expect is raising even more questions in Congress. We will keep you posted if there are further developments.