PRESS RELEASE
Former Congressional
Black Caucus Chair
Defends Waters and Rangel
Aug. 19, 2010 (EIRNS)—On Aug. 13, the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (1987-89), Mervyn Dymally, granted an interview to LaRouche PAC West Coast spokesman Harley Schlanger, on the question of the racist prosecutions being carried out by the Obama Administration against Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). Dymally, who served in both houses of the California legislature, as Lieutenant Governor of California, and in the House of Representatives, took the lead in exposing the FBI racial targetting operation called "Operation Frühmenschen," in 1988, providing sworn testimony by an FBI agent on the program. Dymally himself was also targetted by this program.
Excerpts of the interview, which appeared on the Aug. 15 edition of LPAC-TV's "Down with the Traitors" campaign show, follows:
Schlanger: And now you look at the recent cases of the so-called Office of Congressional Ethics, charging Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters, and it looks as though, given that eight of the targets are African-American Congressmen, by this committee, that we're seeing the same thing.
Dymally: Well, I am distressed to learn that former Congressman [Porter] Goss, is a member of the outside committee. Don't forget: He was so bad that Bush fired him! That's how bad he was.
Schlanger: When he was CIA Director.
Dymally: He was CIA Director. And Maxine had taken on the CIA, when there was evidence of crack cocaine trafficking. And that's reported in a book by Robert Parry—you must read one of his two books, Robert Parry [Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & "Project Truth" and Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq—ed.]. There was Contra trafficking of drugs, with the CIA knowledge, and acquiescence. So I am even more distressed now that you've told me that Goss is on there. I can see what's happening now. It's a set up.
Now, in the case of Congresswoman Maxine Waters: Let's examine the facts in this. She, like other members of Congress, set up an appointment. She did not go to the meeting. She did not ask for any money. This was a negotiation that was conducted between the Treasury, and the bank. Yes, it is true her husband had some stock there. But she did not benefit; neither did her husband benefit.
A classical case of conflict of interest means that you or your family benefitted, financially, from the transaction, and that was not the case....
Schlanger: Even though we have an African-American Attorney General, an African-American President, that the same networks in the FBI, and in the permanent bureaucracy of the Justice Department, that you identified in 1988 as running Operation Frühmenschen, that they are still running these kinds of investigations.
Dymally: There's no change. In fact, it's very troubling. I see evidence of things getting worse, with a black President. The country's polarized, racially. Politics has taken a racial dimension in this country, and that's very unfortunate.
