Democratic Party Establishment Rallies To Support Rahm Emanuel, Dismiss Laquan Police Murder Cover-Up Photo: U.S. Ambassador to Japan nominee Rahm Emanuel attends a hearing to examine his nomination before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel began his confirmation hearing Wednesday as the next U.S. ambassador to Japan amidst anger over his role in the coverup of the 2014 Chicago police murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald.
Despite objections from Black activists and progressive Democrats, President Joe Biden pushed through the nomination in August.
Emanuel appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee seven years to the day after McDonald was shot 16 times by police. Most of the bullets struck him as he lay limp on the ground, CNN reported.
Emanuel has been accused of suppressing video that contradicted police accounts of the killing, a claim that he denied. It took 13 months before police dashboard camera video of the shooting became public and the officer who killed him was charged. Former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison for second-degree murder.
During the hearing, Emanuel both defended and expressed regret over his handling of the police shooting of McDonald under questioning from senators, The Chicago Tribune reported.
“Seven years ago, a young man had his life taken on the street in the city of Chicago. He had all the promise ahead of him, and a police officer took his life, killed him,” Emanuel said. “I said then, ‘I’m the mayor and I’m responsible and accountable for fixing this so this never happens again.’ And to be honest, there is not a day or week that has gone by in the last seven years I haven’t thought about this and the what-ifs and the changes and what could have been.”
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, told CNN, “It is unconscionable the U.S. Senate is considering Rahm Emanuel’s nomination,” adding that Emanuel “used the power of his office as mayor of Chicago to cover up the murder of a child” and that the hearing “should not even be happening in the first place.
“I’m disappointed that a White House which claims to value racial justice would nominate Emanuel because his level of disrespect for Black lives should be disqualifying, not rewarded with a prestigious ambassadorship,” Bowman added.
Despite the opposition to his nomination from some members in his own party, Emanuel still has the backing of the DNC establishment including Illinois Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet. Key senators involved in the confirmation process including Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee introduced Emanuel to the committee. All support Emanuel for the post.
He has also drawn support from Chicago figures including the great uncle of Laquan McDonald, leaders from the Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus and a former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League. The latter wrote Senate Foreign Relations Committee leaders in support of the nomination, CNN reported.
Emanuel defended his inaction regarding the release of the police video.
“My view is the last person you want to make a unilateral decision about the release of the video while the FBI, the U.S. attorney and the state’s attorney … are investigating, is a politician,” Emanuel said. “It should be made by professionals. The moment a politician unilaterally makes a decision in the middle of an investigation, you’ve politicized that investigation and more importantly, you may have endangered the prosecution and bringing somebody to justice.”
Sen. Tim Kaine defended Emanuel during his confirmation hearing, saying its difficult to be the mayor of a U.S. city without “picking up some scar tissue along the way,” Washington Post reporter John Hudson tweeted.
That comment angered some Twitter users. “The leading lights of the Democratic Party think Rahm Emanuel covering up the murder of a Black teenager is ‘picking up some scar tissue along the way.’ The Democrats put its most loyal constituents dead last every single time. Vomit,” tweeted Princeton Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, a Professor of African American Studies.
Another Twitter was upset that McDonald’s great uncle supported Emanuel. “Some of these kinfolks are so EAGER to try to BENEFIT off the deaths of their family members it shows how much they DESPISE their own kin. This is a statement from LaQuan McDonald’s great uncle, Rev. Red Beans and Rice. Hes giving Rahm Emmanuel a pass for covering up the killing,” tweeted Black Authority @TheBlackChannel.
Those against the nomination say it could backfire on Biden as the midterm elections approach. Black voters could withhold support of Democrats — a potential disaster for Biden.
“This is not smart politics for our midterm elections in 2022,” said Kina Collins, a congressional candidate in Chicago who is organizing protests to mark the 7th anniversary of McDonald’s death. She calls Biden’s move to nominate Emanuel “a complete slap in the face to Black America right now.”
“To hold this hearing this Wednesday, the day that marks the 7th anniversary of Laquan’s murder, is unthinkably callous,” said Kina Collins, an anti-gun violence activist who has launched a primary challenge to Chicago-area Democratic Rep. Danny K. Davis with the backing of the progressive group Justice Democrats. “It is the result of a system that consistently and relentlessly devalues Black lives,” Collins said in a statement.
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