On Fox News this afternoon, permanently outraged anchor Megyn Kelly interviewed Malik Zulu Shabazz, the head of the New Black Panther Party, which is considered a black separatist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
It was, shall we say, heated.
Fox didn’t suddenly decide to check in on the New Black Panthers. For the past week or so, Fox, led by Kelly, has been covering allegations made by a former Justice Department lawyer against the DOJ — specifically, that the department dropped a voter intimidation case against the Panthers because they’re black.
The lawyer, J. Christian Adams, resigned in May. He cited the Black Panthers case, which centered around a 2008 Election Day incident in which members of the party stood brandishing nightsticks outside a Philadelphia polling place.
The Obama administration dropped the case in May of 2009, citing weak evidence. But the conservative-controlled Civil Rights Commission is investigating the decision to drop the case. Adams, who had a role in the U.S. Attorney scandal, testified in front of the commission this week, saying the DOJ purposely dropped cases against black defendants.
Adams has appeared on Fox News frequently over the past week. Today, it was Shabazz’s turn. He said the DOJ case was part of a “right-wing conspiracy” to gin up racial fears before the election, and tried to distance himself from the incendiary speech of some Panthers members.
He did, however, admit to calling white people “crackers.”
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