[Letter from attorney Lewis Pitts to U.S. Attorney General William Smith]

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March 24, 1982
William French Smith
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, D.C.  20530
Re: Greensboro November 3rd Investigation
- "Greenkill"
DJ 144-54M-351
Dear Attorney General Smith,
I am one of the coordinating lawyers on the Greensboro Justice Fund
legal team representing the plaintiffs in Federal Civil Action 80-605-G
(Waller v. Butkovich). As you should be aware, federal agencies and
officials (including the Justice Department, FBI, Community Relations
Service, BATF, their respective executive officials, and a number of lower
ranking personnel) are named as defendants in the suit.
On March 22, 1982, Federal District Judge Richard Erwin, who
empaneled the Special Grand Jury in the Middle District of North
Carolina to investigate the November 3, 1979 Klan-Nazi attack in Greensboro,
as well as the events leading up to and following it, addressed the
attached Motion for Appointment of Special Prosecutor. As we noted in
our brief in support of the motion (p. 3), you have failed to conduct
a "preliminary investigation" into the need for a special prosecutor
for the November 3rd attack as is required by 28 U.S.C. Sec, 592, despite
the fact that you were notified of criminal acts by high ranking federal
officials by the filing of the complaint in our suit (November 1980)
and by a meeting between an Assistant Attorney General, a victim of the
November 3rd attack, and a representative of our legal team in December
1930. Our view is that the court, pursuant to its Inherent powers,
should appoint a special prosecutor.
Judge Erwin did not rule on the merits of our claim of conflict of
interest or the necessity for a special prosecutor, but on the record
he did suggest that we refer our request to you. Therefore we have
enclosed our Motion for Appointment of Special Prosecutor as further
notice to you of your obligation. In addition to the statutory obligation
is you general duty to not allow a conflict of interest to taint the
conduct of the Justice Department. Defending the civil suit defendants,
including the Justice Department itself, and simultaneously investigating
for criminal prosecution the same individuals is a real conflict of .
interest.
In addition to Investigating directly the high-level officials we
have alleged have committed wrongdoing, it is imperative for you to
thoroughly explore the conduct of lower'officials operating under
direction of their superiors. This is the only way to know the extent
of high level wrongdoing.
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