Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart Says He's 'Excited' For Shirley Sherrod Lawsuit, Claims It's All About Pigford

Ryan J. Reilly | March 29, 2011, 11:50AM

Andrew Breitbart

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- Andrew Breitbart says he still stands by everything he's said about Shirley Sherrod, the former U.S.D.A. official who filed a lawsuit against him charging he defamed her by "publishing an intentionally false and misleading clip" that damaged her reputation.

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Shirley Sherrod

Sherrod Statement On Breitbart Suit: He Never Apologized

Eric Lach | February 15, 2011, 11:30AM

Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod

Shirley Sherrod has issued a statement addressing the defamation suit she filed against Andrew Breitbart in D.C. Superior Court last week. Sherrod was forced to resign from her USDA job last year, after Breitbart posted an edited video of a speech she gave to a Georgia NAACP chapter.

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Andrew Breitbart

Breitbart Changes Tune On Why He Released Sherrod Video

Eric Lach | February 14, 2011, 3:28PM

Shirley Sherrod and Andrew Breitbart

When TPM asked Andrew Breitbart last July if the release of an edited video of Shirley Sherrod was timed to impact a Senate vote on restitution for black farmers, he said no. Now that she's suing him for defamation, he's making that restitution the issue.

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Andrew Breitbart

Sherrod Suit Accuses Breitbart Of 'False And Defamatory Statements'

Eric Lach | February 14, 2011, 1:40PM

Shirley Sherrod and Andrew Breitbart

TPM has obtained the complaint filed by Shirley Sherrod in D.C. Superior Court against Andrew Breitbart. The suit alleges that Sherrod was forced to resign last year after the defendants "ignited a media firestorm by publishing false and defamatory statements."

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Andrew Breitbart

Shirley Sherrod Sues Andrew Breitbart Over Video

Eric Lach | February 14, 2011, 10:36AM

Shirley Sherrod and Andrew Breitbart

Shirley Sherrod, who was fired from her USDA job last year after Andrew Breitbart posted online an edited video of her, has filed a lawsuit for libel and slander against Breitbart in D.C. Superior Court. The suit was filed on Friday, and Breitbart was served with it this weekend, while attending the Conservative Political Action Conference, according to The New York Times.

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Steve King

Steve King Digs In: Congress Will Investigate 'Reparations' Settlement For Black Farmers

Eric Kleefeld | December 30, 2010, 9:56AM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) is continuing to blast the government's recent discrimination settlement with African-American farmers as "reparations" -- and even predicting that the new Republican-led House will investigate it.

In an interview with local western Iowa radio station KCIM, King discussed the oversight efforts that the new GOP House would undertake. First and foremost, he said, would be his pet cause of investigating ACORN -- which no longer exists as a national organization, but whose activists at the state level could be targeted.

"And there'll be other investigations looking into the Pigford farms issue," King added, "which I think is full of fraud, that's -- what it amounts to is paying reparations to black farmers in America. We don't do reparations in America."

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Pigford settlement

Obama Signs Settlements For Black Farmers, American Indians

Rachel Slajda | December 8, 2010, 6:05PM

President Barack Obama

President Obama this afternoon signed a law funding two major legal settlements for black farmers and American Indians who were discriminated against by the federal government.

The Pigford II settlement, worth $1.25 billion, will pay claims made by black farmers that they were discriminated against by the Department of Agriculture in the 1980s and 1990s, when the department denied them loans and other assistance. The Cobell settlement, worth $3.4 billion, is for American Indians whose land trusts and oil and gas rights were mismanaged by the federal government, which withheld royalties.

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Eric Holder

Holder, Vilsack To Rep. King: We Will Indeed Combat Any Pigford Fraud

Ryan J. Reilly | December 8, 2010, 12:52PM

Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hit back at critics of the settlement reached between the government and African-American farmers who say they were discriminated against by the Agriculture Department. Conservatives said the legislation, which President Barack Obama is set to sign into law today, has the potential for fraud.

TPM asked at a news conference this morning what the government was doing to combat fraud in the Pigford settlement.

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Pigford settlement

The Other Racist Thing Rep. King Said About Pigford (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | December 2, 2010, 12:11PM

Rep Steve King and John Boyd

A few days ago we told you about some of the things that Rep. Steve King (R-IA) had said on the House floor in opposition to a settlement that will benefit black farmers discriminated against by the USDA. Those things included that the claims amount to "slavery reparations" orchestrated by a "very, very urban president."

Well, we missed something, which MSNBC's Ed Schultz played last night:

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Pigford settlement

Funding For Black Farmers' Settlement Passes House

Rachel Slajda | November 30, 2010, 4:44PM

John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association, who advocated for the passing of the Pigford II settlement

The House today passed a bill authorizing the funding of two massive settlements, one for black farmers discriminated against by the USDA and another for American Indians whose oil, gas and water rights were mismanaged by the U.S. government. The vote was 256 to 152.

The funding will now go to the President's desk for his signature.

The $1.25 billion Pigford II settlement, for black farmers who were denied loans and other assistance in the 1980s and 90s, was settled in court in February. The $3.4 billion Cobell settlement for American Indians was settled last December. They've been attached to numerous bills since and repeatedly failed, largely due to objections from Republicans.

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Pigford settlement

Steve King: Black Farmers' Settlement Is 'Slavery Reparations' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | November 30, 2010, 1:43PM

Rep. Steve King (R-IA)

The Senate last week finally approved the multi-billion-dollar funding for the Pigford II and Cobell settlements, which will allow the government to pay out claims to African-American farmers and American Indians who were discriminated against in recent decades by government agencies. Now, the House -- which has passed the funding several times over -- will have to approve it, probably this week. The House, in fact, was voting on procedural motions surrounding the bill as this post was written.

That means the opponents are coming out of the woodwork.

Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who's been one of the most vocal opponents of the Pigford settlement for black farmers, has taken to cable news and the floor of the House to speak against the settlement. King's argument is that the bulk of the Pigford II claims are fraudulent because there are fewer black farmers than claimants -- a flimsy argument when you consider that many African-Americans lost their farms over the past few decades due, in part, to USDA discrimination that denied them loans -- which is the point of the settlement program.

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Pigford settlement

Senate Passes Funding For Settlement For Black Farmers

Rachel Slajda | November 19, 2010, 5:19PM

Members of the National Black Farmers Association march outside the USDA in 2002.

The Senate today approved funding for the Pigford II settlement after nine months of delays. It must still be approved by the House in order to pass.

The $1.25 billion settlement is the result of a class action lawsuit filed by black farmers who were discriminated against by the Department of Agriculture. The settlement was approved by a federal judge in February.

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Keepseagle settlement

Gov't Announces $760M Settlement For Native American Farmers

Rachel Slajda | October 20, 2010, 8:44AM

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack

The departments of Agriculture and Justice yesterday announced a $780 million settlement for Native American farmers who were discriminated against by the USDA in the 1980s and 90s, ending more than a decade of litigation.

If the settlement is approved by a federal court, as expected, an untold number of Native American farmers who were denied loans and other assistance by the USDA will be able to apply for restitution, between $50,000 and $250,000 each -- a total of $680 million. The settlement will also offer up to $80 million in debt forgiveness for eligible farmers.

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Barack Obama

Obama: Pigford II Settlement For African-American Farmers Is A 'Priority'

Rachel Slajda | September 10, 2010, 1:39PM

Farmer Robert Horton, Sr., and wife, Maggie, of Tennessee have applied to be part of the USDA's Pigford settlement

President Obama said today that funding the Pigford II settlement is a "priority" for his administration.

During his press conference, Obama was asked about the $1.25 billion settlement for African-American farmers who were discriminated against by the USDA for decades. The funding for the settlement been delayed in Congress for seven months. April Ryan from Urban Radio asked whether Obama could assure that the settlement would be funded before he leaves office.

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Shirley Sherrod

Sherrod Refuses USDA Job Offers; May Consult Instead

Rachel Slajda | August 24, 2010, 10:31AM

Shirley Sherrod and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack

Shirley Sherrod, the USDA appointee who was fired this summer over allegations of racism stemming from a misleading video, will not take another job with the Departure of Agriculture.

Sherrod and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the decision in a press conference this morning after meeting face-to-face for the first time since the hullabaloo happened last month.

Sherrod was asked to resign her position as director of rural development for Georgia after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart posted an edited video of Sherrod speaking to a local Georgia NAACP. In the clip, Sherrod speaks of prejudice she once felt toward a white farmer while working for a nonprofit that was created to help black farmers.

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Pigford settlement

Senate Punts Again On Settlement For African American Farmers

Rachel Slajda | August 6, 2010, 3:47PM

Farmer Robert Horton, Sr., and wife, Maggie, of Tennessee have applied to be part of the USDA's Pigford settlement

The Senate tried twice yesterday to pass the Pigford II settlement, a $1.15 billion authorization for African-American farmers who were discriminated against by the USDA. The Senate failed, twice -- and now the authorization will have to wait until September, when senators return from recess.

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Pigford settlement

Pigford Vote Delayed; Expected Tomorrow

Rachel Slajda | August 3, 2010, 12:37PM

Members of the National Black Farmers Association march outside the USDA in 2002.

A vote on approving $1.15 billion for the Pigford settlement, scheduled for last night, has been delayed. Senate Democrats expect to vote tomorrow instead.

Congress, especially the Senate, has struggled to authorize money for the Pigford settlement, which grants restitution to African-American farmers discriminated against by the USDA.

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Pigford settlement

Senate To Vote On African-American Farmers' Settlement Funds Tonight

Rachel Slajda | August 2, 2010, 3:52PM

Members of the National Black Farmers Association march outside the USDA in 2002.

The Senate is scheduled to vote tonight after 5:30 on whether to approve $1.15 billion for a discrimination settlement for African-American farmers.

The vote on the Pigford settlement will be a unanimous consent request, a spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid confirms to TPMmuckraker. That means it will pass unless a senator objects.

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Pigford settlement

Senate Strips Funding For Legal Settlement To Black Farmers From War Bill

Rachel Slajda | July 26, 2010, 10:27AM

Members of the National Black Farmers Association march outside the USDA in 2002.

Five months after President Obama announced a $1.25 billion settlement for black farmers who faced overt discrimination by the USDA in the eighties and nineties -- and several days after the Sherrod case brought the issue up again -- Congress again refused to authorize the money.

On Thursday, the Senate quietly stripped the funding for the Pigford II settlement and several other programs from a supplemental war funding bill. Senators then unanimously passed their version of the bill, which will go back to the House.

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Race

Conservatives Try To Bash USDA Anti-Racism Suit, Shirley Sherrod

Rachel Slajda | July 22, 2010, 8:51AM

Members of the National Black Farmers Association march outside the USDA in 2002.

In defending his decision to fire Shirley Sherrod, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explained multiple times that his department has a "sordid" and "checkered" history of both overt and institutionalized racism. But with the term "racism" being tossed around rather a lot recently, it is important to understand both what he meant -- and what role that acknowledged racism played in Shirley Sherrod's life.

It's also important to understand that Andrew Breitbart's timing of the release of the grossly distorted video of Sherrod, which he admits having had for weeks, may not be entirely random. Congress will soon vote on whether to fund part of a settlement between the USDA and African-American farmers who faced acknowledged discrimination -- farmers like Sherrod and her husband used to be. It's a tiny piece of the upcoming war supplemental bill.

The USDA settlements with African-American farmers are a longtime bête noire of the right, which they deem a giveaway to a core Democratic constituency. It's not clear whether Brietbart's release of the video was specifically intended to hurt the chances of other African-America farmers to receive recompense from decades of discrimination that caused them to lose their farms, but conservatives immediately used the video to attack the settlement. The discrimination claims, known globally as the Pigford settlement, is the elephant in the room, so here's the background.

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