Whistle-Blower DOJ Employee Testifies About 'Hostile Atmosphere' to 'Race-Neutral' Policies
An employee of the Department of Justice testified today before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights—as a whistle-blower and against his supervisor’s instructions, he said—that a “hostile atmosphere” in the DOJ’s civil rights division did not reflect “race-neutral” policies.
Former voting section chief Christopher Coates, who now works for the U.S. Attorney’s office in South Carolina, also said “irrational reasons” led to the “gutting” of a voter-intimidation case concerning the New Black Panther Party, reports the Washington Post.
DOJ officials strongly dispute his contentions and the DOJ said in a written statement that Coates isn’t “an appropriate witness to discuss the Civil Rights Division’s current enforcement policies,” apparently because he no longer works there.
Related earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Ex-DOJ Lawyer Blames Dismissal of New Black Panther Case on Reverse Racism”
