A Wide Ranging Conversation with
Thomas E. Wheeler, II
Former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights
United States Department of Justice
Thursday, October 26, 2017
5:30-7 p.m. – Reception & Dinner
7:00-8:30 p.m. – Presentation and Discussion
Schiff Conference Center
Cintas Center at Xavier University
Conflicts over civil rights in the United States are front page issues almost every day and discussed by politicians and pundits alike. Receiving less attention, but of significant interest nonetheless is the impact these conflicts have in the United States’ interests overseas. Former Assistant Attorney General Wheeler will address these issues and offer his analysis of the future of civil rights enforcement in the Trump Administration.
Former Assistant Attorney General, Mr. Tom Wheeler is a member of Frost Brown Todd and oversaw the Civil Rights Division during the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump Administration. During that time, he made hate crimes a priority and oversaw some of the Nation’s most difficult legal matters. These included criminal matters like the investigation and prosecution of Michael Kadar in the JCC bomb threats case, the prosecution of Adam Purinton for the Kansas City shooting of two Indian men whom he believed to be Muslim, and the death penalty phase of the Dylan Roof Charleston church shooting case that left nine African-American parishioners dead.
He also oversaw the investigation and resolution of police cases in the deaths of Alton Sterling, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, and Eric Garner. Tom also directed all of the Department of Justice’s civil rights litigation in the areas of employment, housing, education, disability rights, and voting. Prior to joining the Justice Department, he was counsel to then Indiana Governor and now Vice-President Mike Pence.
Event sponsored by:
Trita Parsi is the founder and president of the National Iranian American Council and an expert on US-Iranian relations, Iranian foreign politics, and the geopolitics of the Middle East.
