President Obama and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder are among a wide range of people criticizing the move by some U.S. Senators, including Democrats, to block the nomination of attorney Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.
They are upset that he did his job as an attorneywhen he was litigation director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund at a time when it represented a death penalty appeal for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Jamal, whose case garnered international attention after he was convicted of the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal eventually did win his appeal, and he is serving life in prison.
Obama issued this statement: "The Senate's failure to confirm Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant. Mr. Adegbile's qualifications are impeccable. He represents the best of the legal profession, with wide-ranging experience, and the deep respect of those with whom he has worked. His unwavering dedication to protecting every American's civil and Constitutional rights under the law including voting rights could not be more important right now. And Mr. Adegbile's personal story rising from adversity to become someone who President Bush's Solicitor General referred to as one of the nation's most capable litigators is a story that proves what America has been and can be for people who work hard and play by the rules. As a lawyer, Mr. Adgebile has played by the rules. And now, Washington politics have used the rules against him. The fact that his nomination was defeated solely based on his legal representation of a defendant runs contrary to a fundamental principle of our system of justice and those who voted against his nomination denied the American people an outstanding public servant."
Holder said this: "The Senate's failure to confirm Debo Adegbile to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice is a travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant. Mr. Adegbile's qualifications are impeccable. He represents the best of the legal profession, with wide-ranging experience, and the deep respect of those with whom he has worked. His unwavering dedication to protecting every American's civil and Constitutional rights under the law including voting rights could not be more important right now. And Mr. Adegbile's personal story rising from adversity to become someone who President Bush's Solicitor General referred to as one of the nation's most capable litigators is a story that proves what America has been and can be for people who work hard and play by the rules. As a lawyer, Mr. Adegbile has played by the rules. And now, Washington politics have used the rules against him. The fact that his nomination was defeated solely based on his legal representation of a defendant runs contrary to a fundamental principle of our system of justice and those who voted against his nomination denied the American people an outstanding public servant."
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People For the American Way Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement: "This vote is deeply disappointing for anyone who cares about civil rights. There's no question that Debo is extraordinarily well qualified for this position. He's worked for years as a lawyer addressing important civil rights issues in our country, and he possesses an unquestionably brilliant legal mind. Someone like Debo Adegbile is exactly the kind of person that the President and the Senate should want in a key DOJ post. Unfortunately, this nomination has been swept up in the poisonous atmosphere that's engulfed Capitol Hill. Instead of praising Debo for taking on important, challenging issues in our justice system, his opponents rushed to twist and distort his record. Attacking an attorney for representing an unpopular criminal client is a toxic strategy for winning a political fight and deeply disruptive to the American ideal of everyone deserving a fair hearing before a court of law. Today's vote is a triumph of demagoguery."
Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, issued this statement: "The fact is Debo Adegbile is an outstanding nominee to be the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights — with a strong track record of advancing justice and freedom. This hypocritical senate filibuster of his nomination is outrageous. The country deserves to have supremely qualified individuals such as Mr. Adegbile confirmed and we urge Senator Reid to bring his nomination before the U.S. Senate again."
Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights,said this on her Facebook page: "The defeat of Debo Adegbile's nomination is an attack on the role and the profession of the civil rights lawyer, and on the work of the NAACP. He's being punished for participating in a successful constitutional challenge to a death sentence because his client (that is, the NAACP's client) is an intensely unpopular man. Shameful."