Obama: Tanner Should Have Been Fired, Not MovedSen. Barack Obama (D-IL), who called on Justice Department officials to fire John Tanner back in October, has a glass-half-empty view of Tanner’s resignation. A statement just out:
“It’s unacceptable that the Administration is simply shuffling deck chairs by moving Mr. Tanner to another important position in the Justice Department. During his tenure, he made offensive, intolerant comments about minorities in an attempt to defend voter identification laws that threaten voting rights, and that’s why I called on him to be fired. It’s time we restore confidence in the Department by appointing public servants who are truly committed to upholding our civil rights.”