The White House said it would be inappropriate for the president to express his opinion on the verdict in the George Zimmerman case.
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama won't involve himself in decisions by the Justice Department on whether to pursue civil rights charges against George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says it would be inappropriate for Obama to express an opinion on how the department deals with Zimmerman after the neighborhood watch volunteer's acquittal in the shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old last year.
The Justice Department has said it's considering whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman has been acquitted in the state case.
The NAACP and others are calling on the Justice Department to open a civil rights case against Zimmerman. Thousands of demonstrators from across the country protested the jury's decision to clear Zimmerman.
Carney would not comment when asked how Obama viewed Florida's "stand-your-ground" law, which was a key element of Zimmerman's defense.
In his first comments since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Martin case, Attorney General Eric Holder said Martin's parents have suffered a pain that no parent should have to endure. He said the nation must not forgo an opportunity toward better understanding of one another.
The Justice Department opened an investigation into Martin's death last year but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.
"We are ... mindful of the pain felt by our nation surrounding the tragic, unnecessary shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., last year," said Holder.
"I want to assure you that the Justice Department will continue to act in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law."
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Barack Obama won't involve himself in decisions by the Justice Department on whether to pursue civil rights charges against George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says it would be inappropriate for Obama to express an opinion on how the department deals with Zimmerman after the neighborhood watch volunteer's acquittal in the shooting of the unarmed 17-year-old last year.
The Justice Department has said it's considering whether federal prosecutors should file criminal civil rights charges now that Zimmerman has been acquitted in the state case.
The NAACP and others are calling on the Justice Department to open a civil rights case against Zimmerman. Thousands of demonstrators from across the country protested the jury's decision to clear Zimmerman.
Carney would not comment when asked how Obama viewed Florida's "stand-your-ground" law, which was a key element of Zimmerman's defense.
In his first comments since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Martin case, Attorney General Eric Holder said Martin's parents have suffered a pain that no parent should have to endure. He said the nation must not forgo an opportunity toward better understanding of one another.The Justice Department opened an investigation into Martin's death last year but stepped aside to allow the state prosecution to proceed.
"We are ... mindful of the pain felt by our nation surrounding the tragic, unnecessary shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., last year," said Holder.
"I want to assure you that the Justice Department will continue to act in a manner that is consistent with the facts and the law."
"Independent of the legal determination that will be made,I believe that this tragedy provides yet another opportunity for our nation to speak honestly about the complicated and emotionally charged issues that this case has raised," Holder said in remarks to the 51st national convention of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
"We must not — as we have too often in the past — let this opportunity pass."
The Justice Department says the criminal section of the Justice Department's civil rights division, the FBI and federal prosecutors in Florida are continuing to evaluate the evidence generated during the federal investigation, plus evidence and testimony from the state trial.
