By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor PUBLISHED: 14:18 EST, 5 March 2014 | UPDATED: 21:07 EST, 5 March 2014 President Obama is going to the mat to defend his controversial nominee to lead the Justice Department's civil rights division – a lawyer who once helped defend a notorious cop-killer – calling Republicans' efforts to block him a 'travesty.' Debo Adegbile, who once participated in the appeals process for convicted murdered and liberal cult hero Mumia Abu-Jamal, failed to win enough Senate votes to proceed to a final determination on his nomination. Vice President Joe Biden was on hand to cast a potential tiebreaking vote, but the 47-52 tally included 'no' votes from eight Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid, effectively killing the nomination.
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Debo Adegbile helped overturn Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence for the 1981 murder of Philadelphia policeman Daniel Faulkner
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The president wants him to lead the DOJ's office that deals with racial discrimination
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Abu-Jamal's defense painted the African-American convict, not his white patrolman victim, as the victim of a racist courtroom lynching
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Obama called the vote a 'travesty' in a biting statement fired off so quickly that the White House misspelled Adegbile's name
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Eight Democratic senators voted 'no' including Majority Leader Harry Reid, who switched his allegiance in order to give political cover to vulnerable liberal incumbents facing tough re-election fights
@placeholder's defection to the GOP side wasn't the only unusual feature of Wednesday afternoon's stunning defeat for the Obama administration.
@placeholder, in fact, had slammed Republicans for opposing Adegbile just moments before joining them, saying it was 'an affront to what it means to live in America.'
Grassley said @placeholder's defense of Abu-Jamal was a progressive 'cause in search of a legal justification.'