Kansas Secretary of State stands by remarks to radio show caller about Obama

[Tom Joad]

I had to look at this one long and hard to make sure it wasn't coming from the Onion.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach stands by his comments to a caller on his weekly radio show Sunday that although he thought it unlikely, it would not be “a huge jump” for the Obama administration to call for an end to the prosecution of African-American suspects.

A caller to the Kris Kobach Show on KCMO Talk Radio asked if Kobach thought that, based on President Obama’s instruction against the enforcement of some immigration laws, it would be possible that one day the president would announce that “any black person accused of a crime, charged with a crime, is not going to be prosecuted, regardless of the crime.”

The question prompted Kobach to refer to a controversy surrounding the Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against members of the New Black Panther Party accused of intimidating voters in Philadelphia in 2008.

“Well, it’s already happened more or less in the case of civil rights laws,” Kobach said. “So I guess it’s not a huge jump. I think it’s unlikely, but you know, I’ve learned to say with this president never say never.”

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