Post date: Jul 15, 2013 7:19:4 PM
White House spokesman defends President Obama's statement after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, and says the Justice Department alone will make the decision on whether to bring federal charges against Zimmerman.
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 15, 2013) (NBC) - Although President Barack Obama made a statement on Sunday (July 14) after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, he won't weigh in on the U.S. Justice Department's decision on whether to file federal charges against Zimmerman, a White Housespokesman told reporters on Monday (July 15).
Zimmerman's acquittal left Obama trying to dial down tensions on Sunday while still reassuring supporters he still stands against discrimination and gun violence."The verdict obviously was fairly big news, something that was being watched nationally, and the president had spoken about Trayvon Martin in the past after he was killed, and the president wanted to convey that he felt the death of Trayvon Martin was a tragedy for his family and for a community, but also for the country, and he wanted to note that in the wake of the verdict the strong passions the case had elicited could be running even higher, and that it was important to remember that we are a nation of laws and the jury had spoken," said White Housespokesman Jay Carney.
As thousands of civil rights demonstrators turned out at rallies in several major cities to condemn racial profiling, Obama asked Americans to "heed the call for calm reflection" made by Trayvon Martin's parents.
Zimmerman, cleared late on Saturday (July 13) by a Florida jury of six women, still faces public outrage, a possible civil suit and demands for a federal investigation.
With civil rights activists clamoring for federal civil rights charges, the Justice Department said it was evaluating whether it has enough evidence to support prosecution of Zimmerman in federal court after his acquittal in Florida.
This is not a decision that Obama will influence, Carney told reporters.
"This is a decision made by the Justice Department, by career prosecutors, and all questions about how that process is undertaken should be directed there and that is not something the president involves himself in," said Carney.
Although Zimmerman was cleared of murder charges under Florida law, U.S. prosecutors could decide to bring criminal charges under a federal hate-crimes law, and some civil rights advocates are lobbying prosecutors to do so.
The hate-crimes law would require the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, shot Martin, who was black, because of race.