They aren't saying so - yet - but I have a hunch that Patrick Leahy and John Conyers are looking seriously, if quietly, at a broad criminal conspiracy by Republican Party operatives to systematically violate the Civil Rights Act, orchestrated from the White House since 2001, and dating back years before George Bush ever ran for President.
Title 18, Section 241 of the Civil Rights Act refers to a "Conspiracy against rights" and says:
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured –
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
Section 242 refers to "Deprivation of rights under color of law" and says:
Whoever, under color of any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, willfully subjects any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or to different punishments, pains, or penalties, on account of such person being an alien, or by reason of his color, or race, than are prescribed for the punishment of citizens, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if bodily injury results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include the use, attempted use, or threatened use of a dangerous weapon, explosives, or fire, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
I just sent the following letter to Patrick Leahy and plan to send similar letters to Diane Feinstein, Arlen Specter, and John Conyers.
Dear Senator Leahy,
The confrontation between your committee and the Bush Administration over executive privilege has raised a serious question in my mind, and I hope in yours as well. Along with the clouded elections of 2000, 2002, 2004, and even 2006, we have seen the rewrite of the DoJ Manual on prosecuting voting fraud, and strong, if anecdotal evidence of an organized, national campaign to disenfranchise likely Democratic voters. To me, these suggest the strong possibility of a coordinated conspiracy organized from the White House and carried out by the DoJ and the Republican National Committee, to violate Sections 241 and 242 of Title 18 in the US Code.
These are felonies. They can bring 10-year prison sentences to those that commit them. I hope that you, Senator Feinstein, and Senator Specter are prepared to go the distance on this issue.
[NAME]
The more evidence they see that ordinary citizens are paying consistent attention to this issue, the more likely they will be to pursue it themselves.