NAACP's Direct Tie to the Black Panthers

In the past 24 hours, more than a few pundits  and  writers have noted  that the NAACP resolution accusing Tea Partiers of racism is hard to swallow when the NAACP seems unconcerned with the New Black Panther voting intimidation case. Their points would be valid by analogy only. Their points are even more valid, though, because of a direct, rather than just analagous, tie between the NAACP and the Panther case.

It was first reported here at the Washington Times that "Kristen Clarke, director of political participation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in Washington, however, confirmed to The Times that she talked about the case with lawyers at the Justice Department and shared copies of the complaint with several persons. She said, however, her organization was 'not involved in the decision to dismiss the civil complaint.'"

Ms. Clarke testified to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights a few months back that that account was wrong. But J. Christian Adams, the main lawyer who built the case against the Black Panthers, contradicted her when he testified to the commission on July 6. Here is the exchange between Mr. Adams and commission general counsel David Blackwood:

MR. BLACKWOOD:  During the decision making process about the Panther case, did you hear that anyone at the Department was consulting with any outside groups such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund?

MR. ADAMS:  Well, I did, but we were also consulting with outside groups.  We visited the Southern Poverty Law Center.  We visited the Anti-Defamation League and would have probably hired them as an expert in this case if it had gone forward.  Because of course the Black Panthers, they're a militant, anti-Semitic group.  They're not just black nationalists.  They hate Jews.  And the ADL has an extensive database on this organization.

MR. BLACKWOOD:  But the -- Your communications with the ADL and the Southern Poverty Law Center I assume were related to the substance of the case.

MR. ADAMS:  That's correct.