WASHINGTON – A recently retired FBI agent has slammed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for “blatant politicizing" of the Department of the Justice and doing “everything to inflame the complex racial issues” facing the nation.
In an open letter WND has verified as authentic, K. Dee McCown, who was an FBI agent for 12 years and has seen the actions of the Justice Department from within, was particularly critical of Holder and his department’s investigations of the "Fast and Furious" scandal, New Black Panther Party intimidation at polling places, the targeting by the Internal Revenue Service of opponents of the Obama administration and ignoring U.S. immigration laws.
In addition, he accused Holder’s Justice Department of being detached from the challenges facing law enforcement and criticized the attorney general's management of several high-profile criminal investigations involving race.
Reached at his current job for the W.W. Grainger Company in Lake Forest, Illinois, McCown told WND that Holder hasn't responded. But McCown said he has received overwhelming support from his former colleagues and friends.
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McCown’s letter lays out concerns about Holder as the U.S. Senate considers Obama's nominee to succeed him, Loretta Lynch, the current U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Although Lynch is expected to win Senate confirmation, there is opposition by some senior senators, including Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest Chairman Jeff Sessions and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
WND's request to the Justice Department for comment on McCown's letter to Holder went unanswered.
McCown's observations are bolstered by the fact that during his 12 years of service at the FBI he managed several civil rights cases, including in Texas.
"In fact, during my last tour in the bureau, I was an FBI supervisor responsible for managing federal investigations in nine Texas counties, many of which were rural, in places where one would suspect racism to flourish, given the narrative often pushed by Hollywood and urban progressive elites like (Holder)," McCown said.
He added that he performed his duties under the close supervision of two FBI managers – an assistant special agent in charge and special agent in charge – "both of whom happened to be African-American and outstanding law enforcement professionals."
McCown said he had chosen to "hold my tongue" until two New York Police Department lieutenants were killed "at the hands of an African-American man, with a lengthy criminal record, fresh from his participation in anti-police activities."
"Coupled with numerous 'don't shoot, hands up' and 'black lives matter' anti-police protests, some of which are violent occurring daily around the nation, I am compelled to write you this letter," McCown said.
McCown sent copies of his letter to McConnell; Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.; House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
"To be blunt, Mr. Holder," McCown wrote, "I am appalled at your lack of leadership as the Attorney General of the United States and your blatant politicizing of the Department of Justice.
"Your actions, both publicly and privately, have done nothing to quell the complex racial issues we face in our country and have done everything to inflame them," he said.
"As the 'top cop' of the United States, you share in the blame for much of the violence and protests we are now witnessing against law enforcement officials honorably serving throughout the nation," wrote McCown.
He excoriated Holder for calling the United States, in his first speech as attorney general, "a nation of cowards" when it came to race relations.
"That speech, followed by other public announcements where you emphatically opined that the odds were stacked against African-Americans in regard to the enforcement of law, your intention to change the law and permit convicted felons to vote after incarceration and your changes to federal law ending 'racial profiling' are poignant examples of how detached you remain from the challenges faced by law enforcement officers serving in crime ridden neighborhoods throughout the nation," McCown said. "These opinions are also indicative of a man that lives and works in the elitist 'bubble' of Washington, D.C."
McCown was especially critical of Holder regarding the Trayvon Martin case in Sanford, Florida, and the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri.
George Zimmerman fatally shot Martin, a black teen, in February 2012, in an altercation in which Zimmerman sustained head injuries. A jury later determined Zimmerman was acting in self-defense. Under assault by Brown, Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed the teen, sparking massive protests and civil unrest in Ferguson and in other cities across the nation. A grand jury, after weighing the evidence, decided not to charge Wilson.
"Contrary to your embarrassing prejudgment in the Brown case and evasive post trial remarks on the Martin case," McCown said, "neither Brown nor Martin were targeted and/or killed because of their African-American race. Rather, as non-emotive investigations determined, both teens died as a consequence of their own tragic and egregious behavior, behavior that involved a violent assault on a law abiding citizen in the Trayvon Martin case and a violent assault on a young police officer in the Michael Brown case.
"Yet, you, as the number one spokesman for law enforcement in the country, blame the deaths of these men on years of institutional racism and the alleged epidemic targeting of African-American men by police departments around the country," McCown said. "Nothing could be further from the truth."
McCown also accused Holder of making it his "personal mission" to join other "racial antagonists" and politicize cases, especially the Brown case in which he said Holder accused the young white police officer of a racially motivated killing in what "we now know was a justified self-defense shooting of a predatory felon."
After the Brown shooting, the Justice Department indeed launched an investigation to determine whether the teen's civil rights had been violated but came back saying it would not prosecute.
"Your behavior is unbelievable," McCown said. "You sir, have sacrificed your integrity on the altar of political expediency. You, Mr. Holder, are the 'coward' and hypocrite you so loudly denounce when speaking of broken race relations in America."
McCown expressed "shock" over Holder keeping counsel with the likes of Al Sharpton, whom the former FBI agent described as a "racist 'shake down artist' who spreads hate, divisiveness and the promotion of anti-law enforcement sentiment throughout the country, a tax evading fraudster who has unbelievably visited the White House over 80 times in recent years."
"It is simply beyond my comprehension as a former federal law enforcement professional that you, the Attorney General of the United States, joined arms in common cause with a charlatan like 'the Reverend' Al Sharpton, and it speaks volumes to your personal character and lack of professional judgment."
In accusing Holder of politicizing the Justice Department, McCown said the nation now is realizing the "fruits of your irresponsible behavior" in the murder of the two New York City police officers.
"How many more police officers will be injured or die in the coming days because of the perilous conditions you helped create in this nation?" McCown asked. "You, President Obama and Al Sharpton own this problem lock, stock and barrel and now it is your legacy."