Rep. Tyrone Brooks reiterated Thursday that the federal government’s criminal prosecution of him is retaliation for his work to bring attention to the unsolved lynching of two black couples in 1946.
Standing in front of the Moore’s Ford Bridge near Monroe, the site of the attacks, Brooks, D-Atlanta, said he sees no other answer.
“To bring personal attacks against me because of this work is uncalled for,” Brooks said. “It’s unethical. But I’m a big boy.”
Brooks was indicted two weeks ago on 30 charges of wire, mail and tax fraud. He is accused of taking money given to a pair of charities he runs and using it for personal expenses. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on bond.
One of those charities, the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, has made the Moore’s Ford Bridge case its priority and holds annual re-enactments at the site in rural Walton County. Brooks said he was in Monroe in April 1968 and was to meet the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. there the night King was assassinated in Memphis.
King had promised to make the unsolved murders a priority. After King’s death, Brooks did not return to the Moore’s Ford case until 1999, and, with then-Gov. Roy Barnes’ help, the GBI and later the FBI became involved. But no one was ever charged, arrested or tried for the crimes.
Now, more than 60 years later, Brooks said he and his colleagues have interviewed witnesses as recently as April. The federal government, he said, is concerned it will be exposed for having a role in the murders.
“We believe there were some federal employees” on the bridge that night in 1946, Brooks said.
Brooks offered no evidence of this or that his indictment is a result of his investigation. A spokesman for the FBI declined comment Thursday, but U.S. Attorney Sally Yates, in announcing the indictments, said Brooks had done much good for Georgia but that the case against him was strong.
In addition to GABEO, Brooks is also accused of illegally using contributions to Universal Humanities for personal expenses. Barnes, his lawyer, last week said Brooks might be guilty of bad accounting, but did nothing criminal.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Barnes renewed his request that a federal judge appoint another lawyer to assist with Brooks’ defense.
Barnes said Brooks will need the court to approve at least $25,000 to pay experts to assist his defense. This includes a forensic accountant, his motion said.
Barnes, who is representing Brooks free of charge, wants to continue doing so. But federal prosecutors are expected to produce about 20,000 pages of documents before a trial that is expected to last at least four weeks, Barnes said.
“Given that the charges cover almost 25 years of Brooks’ life and his service as a public official, the process will prove to be complex, lengthy and time-consuming,” Barnes wrote.
Barnes said he has talked with Stephanie Kearns, who heads the Federal Defender Program office in Atlanta. Kearns has said her office is willing and able to undertake Brooks’ defense.
Barnes also pointed out that he has primarily been involved in the civil practice of law. “It has been over 30 years since counsel has tried a federal criminal case to conclusion,” he wrote. “This is an additional reason the court should appoint counsel.”
The Criminal Justice Act, which allows the appointment of government-financed lawyers for indigent defendants, allows for additional counsel to be appointed for Brooks’ defense, Barnes said.
The alternative would be to withdraw as Brooks’ lawyer at this early stage of the case, allow for counsel to be appointed and then volunteer to assist at no charge, Barnes wrote. “The law does not require a useless act to be done, and the better course is to appoint counsel.”
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