SPLC indictment ‘nakedly political’: Morial

National Urban League President Marc Morial on Thursday slammed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a “nakedly political” move to strike civil rights advancements made by the organization. 

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday unveiled charges against the nonprofit for allegedly funding extremist hate groups, citing documentation accusing the SPLC of paying informants to collect information on a neo-nazi group, the Ku Klux Klan, and other white supremacist and antisemitic groups. 

“The indictment is nakedly political, and it’s the Justice Department turning on itself. For years, federal law enforcement worked with the Southern Poverty Law Center to ferret out hate groups and domestic terrorist groups. And recently, the Justice Department canceled its relationship with the Southern Poverty Law Center,” Morial said during a Thursday appearance on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe.”

“So the government has been intimately involved in what the Southern Poverty Law Center has done, which has been an important public service, and that is to ferret out these hate groups, these domestic terrorist groups, these antisemitic groups,” he added.

Every year, the SPLC publishes a report on hate, highlighting extremist groups that have grown in number or influence nationally. 

In the past, the nonprofit used a now-defunct paid informant program to gain insight into the closed-door strategy for groups advancing hate crimes in the U.S.

However, the SPLC has strongly denied claims of wrongdoing and of fueling hate groups, which are outlined in the charges of six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“We are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC – an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive,” SPLC interim CEO and President Bryan Fair said in a statement.

“Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do. To be clear, this program saved lives.”

On Thursday, Morial said the DOJ is perpetuating a pattern of targeted investigations that dismantle longstanding civil rights activity and go after elected officials considered opponents to President Trump’s agenda.

“This Justice Department, once again, is furthering this pattern and practice of an assault on civil rights through frivolous, politically motivated indictments. Think of [James] Comey. Think of the attorney general in New York. Think of these. This is a continuation, indeed, of that pattern,” he added. 

The National Urban League president pointed to a renewed push to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who previously criminally prosecuted Trump, and former FBI Director James Comey, who was subpoenaed in a wide-ranging probe targeting the prior investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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