Organizations, especially those with a track record of success in obtaining justice for those targeted by racism and hate groups (and political agendas that promote ‘whites first’ policy) was bound to be targeted by Trump’s DOJ. The only surprise (to me) is that it took so long for them to go after the Southern Poverty Law Center. However, under Acting AG Todd Blanche the DOJ got a grand jury in Alabama (where the SPLC is based) to return an indictment. Naturally Blanche got right out there making public statements about how awful the SLPC was. It turns out he was way the hell out over his skis and is bigly backtracking.
This is all too common with the DOJ in Trumpty’s second term. Manufacture an at best weak/dubious if not downright bogus case and make a BFD about it in the news. Then get pushback and either slink away hoping the whole matter will be forgotten but sometimes suffering ‘bigly’ embarrassment when the actual case gets presented to a judge in an actual court proceeding. Of course, Team Trump acts like their boss and key members have a habit of shooting off their fat mouths, only to have their words come back and bite them in the ass. As Raw Story reports it sure looks like Blanche is about to get a huge chunk of his own butt bitten off by his ill-considered statements:
“Todd Blanche is already backpedaling significantly,” said journalist Adam Klasfeld about Blanche and his case against the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“When he unsealed the indictment and went in a press conference, he had claimed to reporters that the SPLC’s informant program was manufacturing racism,” Klasfeld explained. “He went even further a little bit later…He told Laura Ingraham that there was no information that the SLPC informants program gathered that the SPLC shared with law enforcement.”
However, Blanche and the Department of Justice have since been “forced to concede that wasn’t true, that was a lie,” Klasfeld said.
I like that last sentence. I’m so sick and tired of politeness when pointing out some bigwig LIES. Call it what it is and Klasfeld did exactly that. We need that kind of bluntness more often. He points out that not only were Blanche’s claims untrue and that the SPLC has long shared information they deem credible with LE (including the FBI which broke off relations with them) but recently we’ve learned how significant some of what they’ve provided the FBI turned out to be! Klasfeld notes a couple of examples you probably remember, such is information from informants regarding the Charlottesville “White Power” rally, and one in Las Vegas that thwarted a planned domestic terrorism attack against a synagogue and also a gay bar:
“These are things that the SPLC has disclosed in court filings that the government, by the way, after these disclosures never contradicted,” Klasfeld said. “What Todd Blanche said, what he finally admitted five days after his original interview, is that what he said in the first interview was absolutely wrong.”
Has the SLPC shared everything they’ve learned about over the decades with LE? Of course not. Not everything they uncover rises to the level that criminal charges are warranted. They address such things in civil actions or political campaigns as they should. Also, since they have a long history of paying informants it stands to reason some will try to make a buck providing bogus information or information that can’t be confirmed. It stands to reason that doesn’t get reported to LE either. Maintaining credibility, especially with the FBI requires providing viable information that can be followed up on.
Keep an eye on this. From what I know the indictment focuses on ‘wire fraud’ – payments to informants. Many legal experts have reservations about the case and the fact Blanche hasn’t cited an instance of the SPLC withholding information on an individual or group that went on to carry out or at least attempt to carry out a crime is telling. At least to me. What it DOES suggest is what I said already – the SPLC doesn’t pass along information to LE unless/until they’ve deemed it credible enough that LE should be involved. These aren’t nosy neighbor goobers with over active imaginations but rather people who know the law, know the type of people they look at and have decades of experience sorting out “big talk” that just talk from serious stuff that merits real scrutiny.
The SPLC is almost certainly awash in tips and there’s a long history of extremist groups not just in the south but around the country they have to monitor. NOT wasting LE/the FBI’s time with bullshit, and only passing along credible threats isn’t a crime. It’s sound practice and Blanche/DOJ and Patel/FBI should be grateful the SLPC tries hard (as it always has) not to waste their time. AND as I’ve said since Blanche (or Patel) can’t point to an incident/case the SPLC has information about but didn’t pass on this whole thing stinks to high heaven.
Basically, the Southern Poverty Law Center works on matters the Trump administration doesn’t like. With Voting Rights set to become a central issue in the runup to the midterms this case against them is nothing more that an attempt to cut them off at the knees. To take a powerful opponent ‘off the board.’Â Let’s hope the fact Blanche is publicly backtracking makes more news than it has so far.
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It’s SPLC, not SLPC.