Reviewing the Resumes: The Politicized Hiring of Eric Holder’s Voting Section
Eric Holder’s Justice Department wields enormous power over the American political landscape heading into the 2012 elections. Under the Voting Rights Act, sixteen states must submit any election law change to the Justice Department for approval. The law also gives the states the right to go to federal court for approval instead.
States need to understand the biographies of the DOJ officials who will be responsible for managing the review of these submissions. PJM has learned their backgrounds weigh in favor of bypassing the DOJ and going straight to court.
PJM has been investigating an unprecedented hiring blitz by the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department since Obama’s inauguration. In these lean economic times, Eric Holder went on a hiring frenzy, bringing over 130 high-paid government attorneys onto the federal payroll.
After the Bush administration was accused of hiring some attorneys for ideological reasons, PJM requested the resumes of the new Obama hires back in the summer of 2010. The Bush administration satisfied similar media requests within weeks, but a lawsuit had to be filed to dislodge the resumes from the Most Transparent Administration in History. The resumes were only recently turned over — but redacted. (Hans von Spakovsky authored this piece yesterday providing the first review of the resumes.)
The biographies of the people holding the power to review election law changes are wholly relevant to which course state government officials should choose. They should know the Voting Section has a history of being sanctioned and scolded by federal courts for mischief in the redistricting process. Courts have described biased Section 5 reviews by the Voting Section as an “embarrassment” and “disturbing.” The DOJ’s relationship with the ACLU was described by a federal court as “that of peers working together.” The same court all but called DOJ lawyers liars, saying their “professed amnesia” was “less than credible.”
This tawdry history of misconduct by the DOJ coupled with the enormous power to meddle with state election laws more than justifies the examination of the individuals who wield the power in the Obama administration.
Sixteen states, mostly in the south, must submit the tiniest of changes to the federal government for approval under the Voting Rights Act. If a polling place moves from a school cafeteria to the school gym, Washington must approve. If a voter registration office expands business hours by 15 minutes, Washington must approve. If a state adopts a photo identification requirement or passes new legislative districts, changes now occurring across the nation, Washington must approve.
If states covered by Section 5 want to see their redistricting plans and voter identification laws approved, they should go to federal court and bypass the bureaucrats inside the DOJ. Many are relishing the prospect of states like South Carolina running the gauntlet of hostile Justice Department lawyers to obtain approval of voter identification laws or new legislative districts. After Hans von Spakovsky and I urged states to go to court instead, partisan Democrat lawyers claimed fears of DOJ were overblown.
Tell that to Georgia. Georgia enacted a law requiring voter registrants to demonstrate they are American citizens. To Elise Shore at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, this was an outrage, and her organization sued Georgia. She did much more. She badgered DOJ to interpose an objection to the citizenship requirement in 2009. When MALDEF talks, the Obama DOJ listens. Georgia then decided to yank the submission from DOJ and sue in federal court for approval. For good measure, Georgia challenged the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Elise Shore
The bureaucrats ran for the hills in terror, knowing the federal court would approve the citizenship verification requirement, and terrified the court would strike down Section 5. James Buchanan won a Nobel Prize in economics for his Public Choice theory, the idea that bureaucrats make decisions based on personal self-interest rather than public criteria. The swift DOJ retreat on the Georgia citizenship verification objection, and the fear that continued DOJ intransigence might nullify dozens of high-paying jobs inside the Voting Section, brought a swift capitulation by Voting Section management.
And what does Elise Shore, formerly of MALDEF, do now? She works in the Obama Voting Section and will be reviewing state redistricting plans and new voter integrity laws in Florida.
Not only did Shore contribute $1,000 to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, her resume is a lengthy story of a leftist activist. Shore also worked for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a group dedicated to “environmental justice” and aiding illegal aliens. Naturally, while at MALDEF, she vigorously campaigned for comprehensive amnesty for illegal aliens and characterized the citizenship verification program as an attempt to “disenfranchise” not only Hispanics, but also blacks. She also fought against Georgia’s photo identification requirement for voters, something states passing such laws should realize.
Florida recently submitted for DOJ approval a new law which limits the amount of time that ACORN-style groups can hold voter registration forms they harvest. The civil rights industry mobilized in opposition. Jesse Jackson held a rally in Tampa, railing against “Jim Crow.” To Jackson, moving the hours of early voting and requiring timely turnover of voter registration equals Jim Crow. After some early conversations with Shore at DOJ, and upon learning more about her background, Florida wisely yanked the submission and sought out a neutral federal judge for approval.
“By asking a court to rule on certain aspects of the bill, we are assured of a neutral evaluation based on the facts,” said Secretary of State Kurt Browning.
But the DOJ Voting Section has more “poster children” demonstrating why states should go straight to federal court.
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange should be wary. If he submits Alabama’s redistricting plans to DOJ, they will be reviewed by Daniel Freeman. Freeman’s resume shows he worked at the New York Civil Liberties Union and interned for the ACLU. Rounding out his ideological bona fides, he helped Islamic terrorists held in Guantanamo while working for Human Rights First, a George Soros-funded group. Indeed, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee named him the Pro-Bono Attorney of the Year. He was the chair of the Yale Law School Democrats and a member of the Yale College Democrats while an undergraduate.
Daniel Freeman
The Most Transparent Administration in History conspicuously redacted some of Freeman’s activities while at Yale. Freeman brings the perfect partisan pedigree combined with the requisite ideological fervor to Eric Holder’s Voting Section. Alabama would be better off submitting important election changes straight to a federal judge who won’t have the same sort of background as Freeman.
Unfortunately, Alabama won’t be the only state where Freeman will be reviewing redistricting changes. Alaska Attorney General John Burns should also consider sending Alaska election law changes straight to federal court to bypass Freeman. Joining Freeman to review any Alaska submission will be Jaye Sitton. Sitton is a donor to Democratic candidates and the resume she submitted to DOJ boldly proclaims she was a volunteer for “Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change.” She is also a member of GAYLAW and the Intersex Society of North America — whatever that is.
Jaye Sitton
California election law changes will be reviewed by DOJ lawyer Elizabeth Westfall. Westfall worked for the Advancement Project, a Soros-funded group notable for blocking efforts around the country to purge voter rolls of ineligible voters. But Westfall also has stunningly deep political pockets. She maxed out her political contributions to Barack Obama, giving him $4,600 in 2008. For good measure, she donated, $2,300 to the “Obama Victory Fund.” Before she was smitten with Obama, she helped Hillary Clinton, to the tune of $2,100 in 2006 and $2,300 in 2007. She gave thousands of dollars to other Democratic candidates, including Wesley Clark, John Kerry, and Tom Daschle.
Elizabeth Westfall
Like Daniel Freeman, Elizabeth Westfall has the perfect mix of liberal activism combined with raw partisan politics to work in Eric Holder’s Voting Section.
Election law changes in Mississippi will face Michelle McLeod, an attorney with a purple-shirted background in the labor movement. Her resume reveals she worked for the SEIU’s New York “Civic Participation Project” as well as the National Employment Law Project, a pro-union outfit. She also won an award from LexisNexis and Minority Corporate Counsel Association “for demonstrated … commitment to advancing diversity in the legal profession.”
Michelle McLeod
North Carolina has been considering both voter identification laws as well as legislative redistricting plans. Signs are that the Tar Heel state will be bypassing DOJ. Awaiting any North Carolina submission is Justin Weinstein-Tull. He too is a donor to the Barack Obama presidential campaign, and his resume shows he worked for the ACLU in Southern California. He has published a law review article characterizing bans on partial birth abortion as infringing on constitutional rights.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson should take note of the Obama administration attorney hire reviewing the submissions he made to DOJ instead of to court. DOJ lawyer Bradley Heard is a longstanding opponent of voter integrity initiatives. He worked for the Advancement Project, the Soros-funded organization dedicated to blocking voter integrity efforts like voter ID. Stranger still, Heard had a nasty falling-out with his old law firm which resulted in wicked litigation. He sued his partners, and they responded by alleging Heard engaged in misconduct at the firm. Heard filed criminal arrest warrants against his former partners, alleging they had engaged in false voter registration and voter fraud. It may mark the first and last time Heard was concerned about phony voter registration and voter fraud.
For good measure, Michelle McLeod, formerly of the SEIU, will join Heard to review the submissions made by South Carolina. McLeod will also be responsible for statewide election law changes in South Dakota, so Attorney General Marty Jackley should take note.
South Carolina has made a serious mistake in submitting voter ID and redistricting plans to Justice. Every other covered southern Section 5 state realized they couldn’t trust DOJ to give a fair and lawful review of the plan and so they filed in court. Florida even realized DOJ can’t be trusted to review early voting times. Why South Carolina ignored the wisdom of sister southern states is a mystery.
Reviewing changes in Georgia and Michigan will be Maria Rios, a long-term DOJ Civil Rights Division attorney, and Jennifer Maranzano. Maranzano also worked for the George Soros-funded Advancement Project.
In fact, the resumes reveal that almost all of the organizations which formerly employed these new DOJ Voting Section lawyers were funded by George Soros. Expect the George Soros-funded media to rush to their defense shortly.
The sixteen states covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act should go straight to federal court, where they can obtain an unbiased, non-partisan, and fair review of election law changes. Rules of evidence and civil procedure will govern the submission, not ideological whimsy. Detached magistrates will make the decision, not attorneys who formerly worked for the pet projects of George Soros.
The behavior of Holder (and the entire administration) is beyond abhorrent. In fact, my disgust is so deep at this point that I’m speechless at times (a rarity).
I’m not sure who I’m most angry with – our Marxist loving administration or Americans that bury their heads in the sand, unwilling to believe that such evil is truly in control of our government.
I’ve decided that talking to liberals is like talking to cult members – they are truly unable and/or unwilling to recognize basic fundamental facts or freedoms. You have to wonder what could have twisted their thinking process to such an extent that they are unable to grasp the disastrous implications of their actions.
Thanks for providing these facts! I wish MSM would report your information so the average American could finally hear some truth.
RosaM the MSM is NOT going to repert nor publish anything detrimental to their fair haired boy obummer, they are his cheering section,
Vag
I was about to write the same then I read your post. The best we can hope for is that all of these people are fired in mass in Jan. 2013. BTW look at Holder and OP.Gunrunner. That has been news for over 6 months and we hear nothing from the media. This should be on the nightly news. How come Fox isn’t on this more often ?
Fox pretends to live up to their “fair and balanced” claim to fame by keeping some extremely koolaid soused liberals on board but even their most prominent commentators will cut for ads or just shout down others when they cross the line of subject limitations risking yet unpublished data exposure. Who’s telling you about Orley Taitz being at the Department of Health in Hawaii today with a court order to see what they’ve refused to reveal for three years.
Obama’s documentation has been one of those untouchable subjects since it will create a train wreck for not only his agenda biased administration but also all the other TV support media and the political party that raised him to his undeserved elevation. Sooner or later the fire under all their court delay smoke must explode under the inevitable tsunami swamping the big cesspool on the hill with or without Fox. “Mess with the best and sink with the rest”.
With daily treasonous agenda being revealed in the DEA, BATFE, FBI, DOD and one-hundred and thirty high paid kool aid lawyers hired into DOJs Voting Rights section of Civil Rights Division from ACLU, NAACP and other race based groups, they’re telegraphing their continued control bias intentions for 2012. An office pool selecting the next sacrificial goat should be interesting with AGs silence far surpassing the unheralded efforts of Janet Reno.
What’s with the getup on Shore? Is she wearing some sort of Vampire costume. Or is it something else. Shore, Shore, rhymes with . . . Gore?
Definitely looks like she’s standing in like for RH…LOL!
I certainly hope this is not the approved professional attire for the DOJ office? Fishnet hose and a slit dress? Immaturity run amok! This woman cannot believe she looks professional, hip or classy?
I guess no one informed her Halloween was over or that the nearest street corner was already booked. Sad, scary sad.
standing in “line” not “like”…sorry.
Fox may report this, via O’Reilly, Hanity or Van Sustren. Who knows? PJ should E-mail this directly to all 50 Governors.
Bet most of these accolytes smoke pot and do drugs. Bet not one would pass a test!! Bet most have “hippy parents”. Bet most never read a qur’an. dhimmi denial.
DRUG TEST ‘EM!!! Go for the hair – let’s see!!!
better yet, test ‘em on the qur’an, hadith and sunna. Ask them ALL about al-wala’ wa’l-bara.
ignorant subversive stains on the legal profession.
This is the most politicized DOJ we have seen since Nixon. John Mitchell was small time crook compared to Eric Holder. I once thought the people who made an issue of Black Panthers intimidating white voters were making large of a minor and anomalous incident. I was dead wrong. Turns out the criminally racist Panthers have the full support of the Attorney General and the President. Obama’s DOJ is a radicalized power player in the President’s redistribution of (white) wealth agenda.
Look closely at the rioting and looting in London. As we get near the coming election, it is not inconceivable that a losing Obama may resort to his father’s Mau Mau tactics and take the muzzle off the Jacksons, Sharptons, Wrights and Farrakhans. When the Black holy men preach riot and the mobs take to the streets to intimidate white voters, Eric Holder’s control of the federal police machinery will count for a great deal.
Here in New York, while black holyman Al Sharpton preached anti-Semitic riot to the mob in Crown Heights, our Black mayor, David Dinkins who, like Obama, overwhelmingly carried the Jewish vote, ordered the NYPD to stand down. The black mobs were allowed to wild for three days while cops stood around with their hands in their pockets. Only when the Governor threatened to send in the troops to take up policing New York’s streets did the Mayor finally activate the police.
The scenes of the the rioting and religious Jewish families cowering in their homes without official protection impacted on even the shallowest and most liberal of Jews with the shortest memories. Dinkins was turned out of office in the next election and Al Sharpton remained politically radioactive until Obama’s ascent to the White House where Al is a frequent visitor, an African American Senior Statesman and the the President’s moral guide. And, oh yes, the liberal Jews at MSNBC who detest their more religious and patriotic brethren have made Al a talk show host.
If and when the day of the American Mau Mau comes, Americans must remember to distinguish between legal peaceful protest and riot. Americans must ignore MSM canards that rioters and looters are angry over this legitimate grievance or that. Riots are wild outdoor parties in celebration of lawlessness. The ancient and trusty antidote practiced to good effect by authorities around the world since the beginning of time is to shoot rioters and looters down in the street.
Interesting that all these ultra-leftist lawyers are being hired by DOJ, shortly before the 2012 election. Expect them to try and roadblock every attempt to ensure the integrity of this election. Also, expect challenges to and outright fabrication of charges of voter irregularities,whenever one or the other can be used to sway the vote in favor of the Dems and Obama. This is a Justice Department gearing up to steal an election.
Yes, that is exactly what they are doing. The far left radicals who now infest every nook and cranny of our government will end America, if they can. There are no laws that cannot be ignored, subverted or twisted as they dismantle every pillar of freedom. To them, the ends justify the means.
Mailing this to every governor would be an incredible service to our country; especially now; when it looks like an ambitious attempt to affect the 2012. These SOB’s are scheming every day with stuff like this…I’m convinced that there is massive betrayal in the WH because this is a deliberate plot undo our constitution and everything American it seems.
I see where Van Jones gets his inspiration and encouragement now …
With all the gun running when does the DOJ have time? Watch what is happening in Wisconsin. Absentee ballots sent to voters with the DNC office return address, automated calls with a wrong voting date and thousands of non-Wisconsin residents doing everything and anything they can to defame. Do you expect any of this to be investigated by the FED? Just like the prosecution of the Black Panthers in Philly, zip, zero, nada. And you wonder how Zippy gets his nickname?
As a local government attorney who represents a general registrar in Virginia, I share Mr. Adams’ concerns about the Obama Justice Department. Having said that, I’m happy to report that if Virginia is any indication, things might not be as bad as we feared.
The Virginia General Assembly and Virginia localities had to complete their redistricting plans this spring in order to be ready for summer primaries and November general elections for state and local offices. To my knowledge, we all submitted our plans to DOJ for approval (the compressed time frame in which we had to act gave us little choice, as DOJ must act on our submissions much more quickly than the Court is likely to), and all of those plans have been approved, including the contentious state plan for General Assembly districts. The state still has to complete its redistricting for congressional districts, so I guess there is still some concern that DOJ could play games with that submission, but at least to date, DOJ has not played political games with Virginia’s redistricting submissions.
Leeotis (THE?)
It is not accurate to say “and all of those plans have been approved” in Virginia.
Not sure how any one person could know whether all the local redistricting plans have been approved by DOJ in Virginia – which I can assure you, they haven’t.
Christian,
You will note that I also said “to my knowledge.” I don’t claim to know everything, but I have been in local government work in Virginia for almost 25 years, and this is my third redistricting, so I think I know a good deal.
I am on a local government attorneys’ listserve, and most of us share our information with each other. I have received emails from well over 50 counties which have made submissions, each of which has confirmed pre-clearance of their plan. I have not heard of an objection being interposed to any Virginia plan. Have you? I would be very interested to know if that is the case.
As I assume you probably know, Virginia cities have generally not submitted their plans yet, since they don’t have fall elections.
I’m with you on where you are coming from, believe me, and I appreciate everything that you are doing. Keep fighting the good fight. But I do feel that it is appropriate for me to report the experiences that we are having here in the Old Dominion.
Indeed, not all municipalities in Virginia have experienced what you describe. Happy to talk further, but not here. Contact information a few clicks away.
Leeotis: Tch. Tch. Tch. Shame on you, trying to be evenhanded with someone/anyone in the Obama Administration. AND, on PJM, too boot!!
They will kick you to the curb, if you keep it up.
Well done reporting. House committee should subpoena resumes of all DOJ hires under Holder. The Soros funding octopus controls hiring in journalism and law through a network of fellowships,grants, and advocacy organizations. One must be in awe of urge ability of Soros to expand his influence by copying the methods of the Tides Foundation on a grand scale. Thousands of “public interest” groups network together and influence who gets hired by the government and academia. Together these groups generate endless litigation. (Soros has funded the most boots on the ground in the fight for control over local judge selection.) The interface between governmental funding and science is dominated by Soros linked groups. (Soros uses past-through grants to fund specific causes.) An aspiring scientist,lawyer, journalist, or academic knows what type of “public interest” service helps get a grant, government job, or school admission.
Well, I believe it is time to break his control. His psychotic belief that he is like a god is pathetic. I understand he slobbers over the destruction of countries/economies as part of his personal enjoyment, but it is time to end his maniacal games.
It is disappointing that others have not formed an alliance to stop this ignorant bully and regain control of America’s freedom. The MSM needs to be taken to task for their allegiance through willful disregard of the facts and knowingly inaccurate, biased reporting.
With regards to 2012…with the average American starting to realize what is really going on, Obama’s re-election chances are becoming slim. I fear that Soros has created events to prevent such a possibility. America is no longer its own country and freedom may soon be a thing of the past.
This series deserves a Pulitzer. Insert your own bitter punchline.