Dr. Willie W. Herenton
5281 Horn Lake Road
Memphis, TN 38109-7414
October 27, 2009

The Honorable Eric Holder Via FedEx Overnight Delivery &
Attorney General AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Holder:

I am the former Mayor of the City of Memphis and a candidate for United States Congress for the Ninth Congressional District. I retired from the Office of Mayor in July 2009 to run for Congress after serving as Mayor for seventeen and one half (17 1/2) years.

Approximately one (1) week ago, I received a communication from the local U.S. Attorney General’s Office informing me that I am the target of a federal investigation. As described in the letter, this investigation involves personal business transactions that I participated in while Mayor and which specifically concern a local Greyhound Bus Line property.

It is my sincere belief that the communication from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office identifying me as a target of a federal investigation coming just weeks prior to my first formal campaign event is grounded solely in politics and is nothing more than a well orchestrated attempt to influence the outcome of the Congressional election next year.

By way of background, in January of this year the supposedly secret federal investigation of me was intentionally leaked to a local newspaper, The Commercial Appeal. Following this intentional leak, the attorney for the Memphis City Council was asked by the Chairman of the Memphis City Council to conduct a thorough and exhaustive review of the transactions discussed in the newspaper article. The conclusion reached by the City Council attorney, who has more than two (2) decades of experience in providing advice and counsel to members of the Memphis City Council and other local officials, was that the private business transactions were not in conflict with any of my duties as Mayor and that I had not violated a single ordinance or state statute.

I have lived and worked in Memphis virtually my entire life. I am the product of a single mother and I grew up in low-income housing. But I have been extremely blessed and have had the privilege of serving the citizens of Memphis as both Superintendent of Memphis City Schools and as Mayor. Throughout my career I have always been, and will continue to be, a tireless and unrelenting advocate for minority business development in Memphis. It is because I have advocated so strongly for the equitable participation of minorities in local economic development that I have made many enemies in this community.

With this professional history, I am acutely aware that politics can sometimes be hard ball and often time resemble a blood sport. This is nothing more than a vicissitude of the life I have chosen. However, the involvement of law enforcement agencies and the Justice Department in local politics and in attempting to influence the outcome of an election is not only unethical but also crosses the line of acceptable political discourse.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have been the target of a rogue federal investigation. During my last mayoral campaign, I was approached by several prominent business persons who did not want me to seek re-election. Basically these individuals attempted through monetary inducements to convince me not to seek re-election. Promises were made which included a high paying job and other perks, all of which I refused. I am sure you are familiar with the expression “you must take the bitter with the sweet.” I experienced this maxim first hand as not long after the “sweet” persuasion tactics failed I was subjected to the “bitter.”

Unknown to me, at the same time that I was being wooed with money and perks, another group of local business persons, with the help of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, concocted a plot to ensnare me in criminal conduct involving sex, prostitution and the bribery of an inmate in a federal prison. Through the grace of God, I learned of this elaborate criminal enterprise prior to its execution and I immediately contacted law enforcement officials, including your predecessor to request that an investigation be opened to ferret out all involved, including any federal agents or federal officials who had participated in this scheme. Although Attorney General Gonzales acknowledged the receipt of my letter and committed to conduct and investigation, he never provided me with the results or any findings. I am enclosing a copy of the letter I sent to Attorney General Gonzales and I am requesting that you provide me with the results of his investigation, if any. If no investigation was conducted, as I suspect is the case, I respectfully request that you re-open this investigation and publicly disclose the results.

Notwithstanding the dirty tricks played against me, the citizens of Memphis re-elected me as Mayor in 2007. However, my issues with local federal agencies only intensified. Not long after my re-election and after I had blown the whistle on employees within the Justice Department the retaliation by federal officials began in earnest. Subpoenas were issued to numerous friends and colleagues and every private business transaction that I have participated in since being elected Mayor was reviewed and scrutinized. When no evidence of wrongdoing was uncovered, the local U.S. Attorney’s Office selectively leaked documents to The Commercial Appeal all in an effort to undermine me and my leadership of the City of Memphis.

After my retirement from the Office of Mayor and I announced my intention to run for United States Congress, the intimidation tactics intensified. In August or September 2009, the federal government participated and played an active role in the illegal theft of attorney-client privileged documents that were in the custody and control of the City of Memphis.

The City of Memphis maintains literally thousands of attorney-client privileged communications from numerous lawyers and law firms who represent city employees in matters where the City Attorney is precluded from doing so by either a conflict of interest or the professional rules of conduct. The records that were wrongfully obtained contained the mental impressions and work product of my attorney, whom I retained to provide me with legal counsel regarding the allegations that my private business dealings had been unethical or violated ordinances and/or state statutes. The wrongful disclosure of these confidential and privileged records to federal officials was, and is, a clear abuse of power and was professionally out of bounds.

I also believe that my receipt of a target letter only one (1) month after my rights were deliberately violated by federal and local officials is more than mere coincidence. The one question I have is: who prosecutes corrupt federal investigators and prosecutors?

Lastly, I also find it to be quite revealing and insightful that the constitutionality of the same federal statute that is referenced in the target letter is at this very moment being debated by members of the United States Supreme Court. The concern I have with the reference to this statute is the same one expressed by Justice Scalia – “Without some coherent limiting principle to define what ‘the intangible right of honest services is, whence it derives, and how it is violated,’ this expansive phrase invites abuse by head-line grabbing prosecutors in pursuit of local officials, state legislators and corporate CEOs .”

I have followed with great interest your public statements regarding overhauling the public integrity section of the Justice Department since the previous administration bungled the trial of Senator Stevens. The Stevens case among others, like Don Siegelman the former Governor of Alabama and, on a local level, the case involving former President of Memphis Light Gas & Water, Joseph Lee, were motivated by pure politics and not the type of objective detachment that inspires confidence in prosecutorial bodies. Sadly, the investigation of me is nothing more than a continuation of this shameful course of conduct.

Please review this matter at your earliest convenience. I look forward to your response.


Sincerely,


Dr. Willie W. Herenton
Former Mayor
City of Memphis
Enclosure