Injustice at Justice; Voting Rights Chief Sent South

Hans von Spakovsky / December 29, 2009

The Washington Times is reporting today that the career chief of the Voting Section at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Christopher Coates, is being removed and sent to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Charleston, South Carolina, for 18 months.

This is significant for many reasons, but specifically because he was the chief of the Voting Section when it investigated the voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party and because he has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  The Justice Department is defying federal law by refusing to allow him to testify about the investigation, which necessarily includes reviewing details about the order he received from higher ups to dismiss the case after the Department had already won by default. (more…)