Candidate Obama ran on a platform of openness, transparency and accountability in government but when it comes to the Pigford scandal, the USDA and Secretary Tom Vilsack continue a pattern of deception. At issue are accusations of fraud that may amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in a settlement that was supposed to give money to black farmers who suffered years of discrimination from the USDA.
A couple of weeks ago, President Obama signed a multi-billion dollar extension to Pigford amid some criticism from conservatives that there was rampant fraud in Pigford. Vilsack’s USDA office issued a press release in the days before Obama signed the extension claiming that the FBI has only found three cases worth prosecuting and giving the impression that there were only a small handul of fraud cases out of over 15,000 paid claims.
The USDA now knows better — but is still sticking by their claims.
I’m out on the road doing interviews with key people involved in Pigford. The following clip is from a video interview I did with Othello Cross, an attorney for Pigford claimants with about fifteen years of experience on the case. Again, just to make it clear — this is a attorney representing claimants. He’s pro Pigford and has profited from it — if anything you’d expect him to say he’s not aware of any fraud.
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