Panthers Probe Heats Up Panel

The federal government's dismissal of voter intimidation charges against the New Black Panther Party has not only stirred debate at the national level and among various media outlets, but created a firestorm within the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which has announced a separate investigation of the matter.

In a statement, five Republican and independent commission members — describing themselves as "conservative-leaning colleagues" — took issue with comments by Commission Vice Chairman Abigail Thernstrom, also a Republican appointee, who called the New Black Panther Party probe "politically motivated."

"Our fellow member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Abigail Thernstrom, has asserted in various media outlets that the commission's investigation into the Justice Department's handling of the New Black Panther Party matter is a politically-motivated attempt to damage President Obama," the five said in the statement.

"Not only is this accusation baseless, it deflects attention from the serious allegations of wrongdoing within the Department of Justice both in connection with the New Black Panther Party case and more broadly," it said.

Mrs. Thernstrom told Politico last month that the commission's investigation "doesn't have anything to do with the Black Panthers; this has to do with their fantasies about how they could use this issue to topple" the Obama administration. She said her fellow conservatives on the commission "had this wild notion they could bring Eric Holder down and really damage the president."

The statement issued Thursday was signed by Republican members Gerald A. Reynolds, assistant general counsel at the Kansas City Power & Light Co., who serves as chairman; Peter N. Kirsanow, a partner at the Cleveland law firm of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff; and Ashley L. Taylor, a partner at the Richmond law firm of Troutman Sanders LLP; and independent appointees Gail Heriot, a law professor at the University of San Diego, and Todd F. Gaziano, senior fellow in legal studies at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

"We decline to comment here on Commissioner Thernstrom's motives for making these statements or for any other votes or positions she's taken recently," the statement said, adding that her comments were "seized by some to diminish the importance and credibility of the investigation."

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