Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The senate voted against giving controversial appointee Debo Adegbile an important position in the Department of Justice.
Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-8th) said the senate made the “right call” by not appointing Adegbile to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
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From USA Today:
Only 47 senators, all Democrats, voted to advance Adegbile’s nomination while 52 senators voted to block him, including seven Democrats. Vice President Biden presided over the vote in the event he could break a tie, which was unnecessary after Democrats failed to muster enough support. Obama said “those who voted against his nomination denied the American people an outstanding public servant.”
Adegbile’s nomination by President Barack Obama has been fought due to the civil right attorney’s connection to convicted Philadelphia cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal was found guilty of shooting Officer Daniel Faulkner in the 1980s.
Fitzpatrick told LevittownNow.com support from both sides of the floor showed him the senators “applied common sense.”
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“Mr. Adegbile’s legal leadership in the case of Mumia Abu Jamal not only prolonged the pain and suffering of the Faulkner family, it added to the misplaced ‘fame’ given to a coldblooded killer masquerading as a social activist,” Fitzpatrick said.
Obama said the news from the senate chamber a “travesty based on wildly unfair character attacks against a good and qualified public servant.”
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Fitzpatrick voiced his concern when the nomination was announced. He based his feelings on the fact Adegbile worked for the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP. During his time at the fund, “Adegbile argued that there was racial discrimination in the jury selection for Abu-Jamal,” a Philadelphia Inquirer Story said.
The congressman along with police unions and the widow of the slain policeman condemned the nomination. Fitzpatrick wrote a letter to the president to voice his opinion.
“I just wanted to make sure senators from across the county knew the story of Danny Faulkner,” Fitzpatrick said in a phone conversation.
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The congressman said he remains “optimistic that President Obama will take action to nominate a new candidate for this position who will faithfully execute the duties of this important office and draw strong, bipartisan support.”
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