US judge sends racist email about Obama, apologizes

WASHINGTON - A US judge has apologized but denied being a racist after sending an email joke about President Barack Obama that said African Americans were like dogs, according to a newspaper report.

Richard Cebull, chief US district judge in the state of Montana, had sent the anti-Obama email from his court email address on Feb 20, the Great Falls Tribune said.

Cebull had sent the email to a small group of friends and admitted that he had forwarded the message because he didn't like Obama.

"It was not intended by me in any way to become public," Cebull said. "I apologize to anybody who is offended by it, and I can obviously understand why people would be offended."

"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan," he said. "I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. I sent it out because it's anti-Obama."

Cebull was nominated by former president George W. Bush and has served as the chief judge for the District of Montana since 2008.

The content of the email, according to the newspapers, reads as:

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother; 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?'

"His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"