ePluribus Media has learned that the leadership of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has reversed its  July decision and is now signaling its willingness to permit Voting Rights Section Chief John Tanner to testify before Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)’s  House Judiciary Committee.  Although a Judiciary Committee spokesperson has confirmed the reversal, the final date and time for the testimony have not been finalized. There’s speculation that Tanner in his testimony will assume responsibility for the Georgia Voter ID controversy, leaving Hans von Spakovsky, currently up for confirmation to the Federal Elections Commission, a cleaner resume.
Tanner gained notoriety as the Section Chief who overruled career Justice Department staffers and permitted the State of Georgia to implement a law that requires all Georgia voters to show photo identification despite the fact that the career lawyers believed the new law discriminated against minorities in violation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Tanner returned to the national spotlight when he made controversial remarks defending his Georgia decision. Last Friday, he stated, in remarks videotaped by Alan Breslauer of BradBlog, that “minorities don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first.”

Read the rest of the article -- Civil Rights Division to “Throw Tanner Under the Bus” to save Hans von Spakovsky’s FEC nomination -- and then come back here to discuss.