Posted on 01/09/2014 10:07:39 AM PST by Sub-Driver
January 09, 2014, 12:45 pm Obama nomination of Mumia Abu Jamal lawyer stirs controversy
By Mario Trujillo
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) expressed reservations about President Obama’s nominee to lead the Justice Department’s civil rights division during a Wednesday confirmation hearing for Debo Abegbile.
Abedbile’s nomination has come under scorn from the Fraternal Order of Police, who have scolded Obama for nominating a lawyer involved in the defense of Mumia Abu Jamal, who was convicted of killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner in a 1982 trial.
Grassley said he would giving “thoughtful consideration” to the complaints from police. He said the union, which represents 330,000 officers around the country, is well respected on both sides of the aisle.
“So, when they write to inform us of their ‘extreme disappointment, displeasure and vehement opposition’ to the nominee for the Civil Rights Division, I think that we should give their concerns thoughtful consideration,” Grassley said in his opening statement.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) applauded Abegbile’s background, making no mention of the case.
“I know he has been shaped by these experiences and will fight to uphold the rights of all Americans when he is confirmed to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department,” Leahy said.
Adegbile was originally nominated in November, and was re-nominated for the position again this year. He currently serves as a senior counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. His nomination to the Justice Department is subject to Senate confirmation.
The police union opposes Abegbile’s nomination because he held a leadership position in the NAACP legal defense fund when the group defended Abu Jamal, who was convicted of killing Faulkner during a traffic stop in 1981.
Abu Jamal was sentenced to death, but appeals of the sentencing kept his case in the courts for much of the next three decades.
In 2011, Abu Jamal avoided the death penalty after the courts ordered that he should be re-sentenced after flaws during his original 1982 trial. Prosecutors then announced they would no longer seek the death penalty against him.
The NAACP legal defense fund represented Abu Jamal during the re-sentencing. From 2001 to 2013 Abegbile held various leadership roles in the fund.
The police union said the nomination of Abegbile spurred reactions ranging “from anger to incredulity” inside the police force.
“There is no disputing that Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Faulkner was murdered by this thug [Mumia Abu Jamal],” the group said in a letter to the president opposing Abegbile’s nomination. “His just sentence—death—was undone by your nominee and others like him who turned the justice system on its head with unfounded and unproven allegations of racism.”
I’m getting a little sick and tired of the turbanizing of America.
Criminals trust criminals. In your face America....again.
Kleptocracy continues to expand.
I would rather have Saul Goodman than this turd.
I really miss the United States. Wish I could somehow live there again.
Keep in mind that Holders wife is currently “vacationing” with The Oprah, Val J. and the First Mooch.
The “vacation “ that launches Moochies political career and keeps the Kenyans Kleptocracy alive..
Tawana Brawley’s lawyer, Al Sharpton not available?
He’ll fit right in with an AG from a firm that specialized in defending terrorists.
Hillary Clinton represented Black Panther thugs/killers in New Haven - America loves Hillary.
“I’m getting a little sick and tired of the turbanizing of America.”
Look up Christie and the Muslims. Just had that pointed out to me. Evidently he is very friendly toward them.
Maybe he’s a sacrificial lamb. Intending to have the radical rejected or withdrawn with the result of a slightly lesser leftist easily succeeding.
This shows the true feelings of Obama. To select a lawyer who, divorcing himself from all reality, decides to represent a person who deliberately killed another man because of his own race feelings. Mr. Cook drove up on a policeman who had stopped his brother for a minor traffic violation. He shot the officer. Then he stood over the man an shot him in the face to finish him. Officer Faulkner got off a shot to his stomach. That caused him to sit on the curb until other police arrived.
This zero that Obama just nominated for office tried to defend Mr. Cook based on the fact that his is black. Does that give him an exceptional right to kill? A man like that should not be in a federal position of power. He shouldn’t even be bagging at the ACME. A zero with twisted logic like this doesn’t deserve any position save street sweeping. Sorry but that’s what’s right!
You and me both.
All Freepers in Iowa should be burning up Grassley’s phone lines. He’s just going to give the nomination careful consideration? Ooh, that panty-waist is playing hardball now!
What kind of slob would do something like this? The man he nominated is a complete jackass. Anyone who would try to defend someone who shot someone who shot somebody in the back and then walked up and shot him in the face is no good and twisted in his alignments. This shows Obama to be a complete jackass. He knows of this clown’s alignments and still nominates him. That is intentional. He has mooned us. Let us react accordingly. Let’s ignore him for the rest of his tenure. Then maybe, just maybe, he’ll go away never to be heard from again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.