http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40003.htmlAgriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that he will reconsider the abrupt firing of Shirley Sherrod, a Georgia-based Agriculture Department official who was the victim of a media frenzy over comments that turned out to have been distorted by video editing.
"I am of course willing and will conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts to ensure to the American people we are providing services in a fair and equitable manner,” Vilsack said in a statement e-mailed by USDA at 2:07 a.m.
A White House official said: "Not sure what the ultimate result will be, but it’s clear that with new information through the full speech, a longer look needed to be taken. The White House contacted the Department last night about the case and agreed, based on new evidence, that it should be reviewed.”
Vilsack issued his statement several hours after NAACP President Ben Jealous declared that the organization had been “snookered” into condemning the former official and urged Vilsack to reconsider.
Sherrod, USDA's rural development director for Georgia, said she was ordered to resign on Monday after a video — posted on one of Andrew Breitbart’s conservative sites — showed her saying she had not given a white farmer her “full force.”
But the NAACP late Tuesday posted the full, unedited video of Sherrod speaking at an NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner, and it showed the remarks had been taken out of context in the version posted by Breitbart.
Breitbart had said that he had posted the full version he was given, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Sherrod's full speech surfaced.
The farmer, Roger Spooner, now 87, appeared on CNN on Tuesday night from his Georgia home and said Sherrod had been “helpful in every way — she saved our farm.”
“This … is a bunch of hogwash, in my opinion,” he said on “Anderson Cooper 360.” “She was just as nice to us as anyone could have been. And, as far as racism and all, that's — it's just ridiculous.”
Sherrod also went on CNN to defend herself and attack the NAACP for criticizing her without first calling her to confirm details. She also charged that the White House wanted her to resign – a claim the White House denies.
After hearing Sherrod’s criticism, Jealous called Sherrod to hear her out. Following the call, he released a statement saying the organization had been wrong to condemn her.
“With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA official Shirley Sherrod, we have come to the conclusion we were snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias,” said Jealous. “Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.”
“The fact is Ms. Sherrod did help the white farmers mentioned in her speech,” he continued. “They personally credit her with helping to save their family farm.”
Later, Jealous said he apologized to Sherrod. “Spoke to Ms. Sherrod earlier today and personally apologized. Plan to meet with her face-to-face the next time I'm in Georgia,” Jealous wrote on his Twitter account.
During her interview with CNN, Sherrod blamed the NAACP’s recent dust-up with the tea party for the edited video’s release.
“They got into a fight with the tea party, and all of this came out as a result of that,” Sherrod said, in reference to the NAACP’s resolution last week accusing the tea party of having used “racist” tactics.
Sherrod also says that, contrary to her partial comments seen on the edited tape, she did end up helping the white farmer to keep from going into foreclosure, an account backed up the farmers, Roger and Eloise Spooner of Albany, Ga.
Jealous pointed to the NAACP’s recent conflict with the tea party, but blamed the “lengths to which extremist elements will go to discredit legitimate opposition.”
“The Tea Party Federation took a step in that direction when it expelled the Tea Party Express over the weekend. Unfortunately, we have yet to hear from other leaders in the tea party movement like Dick Armey and Sarah Palin, who have been virtually silent on the ‘internal bigotry’ issue,” he said in his statement. “Next time we are confronted by a racial controversy broken by Fox News or their allies in the tea party like Mr. Breitbart, we will consider the source and be more deliberate in responding. The tape of Ms. Sherrod’s speech at an NAACP banquet was deliberately edited to create a false impression of racial bias, and to create a controversy where none existed.”
Before Vilsack's statement of reconsideration, Agriculture Department spokesman Chris Mather had said Sherrod was let go because of what she said in March that was captured on the videotape, not due to her actions in regard to the farmer two decades ago.
“She was asked to resign because of the comment she made when she was a political appointee. It’s not what happened decades ago. It’s the comments she made in March.”
Mather also said that the White House played no part in Sherrod’s resignation. Vilsack asked for her resignation and he accepted it when Sherrod gave it, Mather said.
“This is the Secretary’s decision. There was no pressure from the White House,” Mather said.
"Our policy is clear," Vilsack said in an earlier statement. "There is zero tolerance for discrimination at USDA and we strongly condemn any act of discrimination against any person. We have a duty to ensure that when we provide services to the American people we do so in an equitable manner. But equally important is our duty to instill confidence in the American people that we are fair service providers."
A White House official said that President Barack Obama was briefed after Vilsack made the decision on Sherrod – and that the decision was Vilsack’s alone but that the White House backed the decision.
Daniel Strauss contributed to this report.
