Rev. Jesse Jackson Requests Secret Service Files

Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson speaks at a press conference on relief aid in Haiti.

Thony Belizaire, Getty Images

Members of the United States Secret Service are under investigation after racist and sexually charged e-mails recently surfaced. One in particular, which references two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, has the civil rights leader upset. According to CBS:

"Rev. Jackson's dealings with the Secret Service date back to his two campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination in the 1980s. He actually asked for and was assigned protective details before other candidates back then.

The Secret Service e-mail, obtained from a court filing in Washington, was titled "The Righteous Reverend," and jokes about the deaths of Jackson and his wife when a missile strikes their plane. The e-mail ends with, it "certainly wouldn't be a great loss and probably wouldn't be an accident either."

Jackson is requesting to read every correspondence that concerned him and his family, dating back to the 1980s. While the most damaging e-mails found had nothing to do with the elder Jackson, his son, U.S. Rep Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), isn't convinced this was a one-time event.

"The Secret Service is charged with investigating threats, not initiating them. This gives you some sense, some insight, into what may be taking place there," he said. "The Congress of the United States has oversight responsibilities and we're going to be looking very carefully at what's going on there."

Should Barack Obama be worried about the level of protection he receives from the Secret Service? One lapse in Obama's security at a Dallas event left some wondering.

Geoffrey Gardner

Tags: Jackson angry racist emails | Jesse Jackson | Rev. Jesse Jackson | Secret Service racism | U.S. Secret Service | racism

5:26 PM ET | 05-15-2008 | permalink

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