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Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va) Warns Holder Not to Interfere w/Coates’ Commission on Civil Rights Testimony - Black Panthers

A follow-up on this post referecing Coates’ testimony tomorrow on the New Blank Panthers Case.

(PJM) In an exclusive obtained by Pajamas Media.com, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) has warned Attorney General Eric Holder not to interfere with the decision of Christopher Coates to testify before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights tomorrow, citing the federal “1912 Anti-Gag Legislation and Whistleblower Protection Laws for Federal Employees.

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BREAKING: Former Voting Section Chief of Civil Rights Division Christopher Coates Disobeys DOJ, Will Testify on New Black Panther Case

In a dramatic development that could shake the political leadership of the Justice Department, career lawyer Christopher Coates has sent a letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights offering to testify Friday on matters related to the controversial New Black Panthers voter-intimidation case. Click here or on the screen capture below to read Coates’ letter in PDF form.

Ten months ago, Coates, the award-winning former chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division, was subpoenaed by the Commission to testify about the case. He was subsequently instructed by DOJ officials to ignore the subpoena. Within the past hour, commissioners were informed that Chairman Gerald Reynolds had spoken with Coates and that the chairman would reconvene the Commission’s ongoing hearing on Friday at 9:30 a.m. to hear Coates’s testimony.

The Civil Rights Commission has sought to obtain Coates’ testimony on Justice’s dismissal of the New Black Panther Party voter intimidation case in Philadelphia. In a recent request to Justice, the Commission agreed to limit initial questioning of Coates to accusations made by former career lawyer J. Christian Adams about statements and other actions by Julie Fernandes, an Obama administration political appointee, if DOJ produced Coates.

The DOJ refused.

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That refusal apparently means that the Commission will not feel obligated to honor those restrictions in the hearing tomorrow. That means that the panel will almost certainly ask wide-ranging questions about the politicization of the CRD and attempts by the White House and Attorney General Eric Holder to squelch prosecution not just in the case of the New Black Panther Party activists in this case, but in other civil rights cases as well.

Expect some fireworks tomorrow. If Coates is this motivated to testify, he must have something explosive to say.


Click to view image: '5367c7eac84e-wolf_screen_capture_92410.jpg'

Added: Sep-23-2010 
By: jumpingforJoy
In:
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Tags: Rep., Frank, Wolf, (R-Va), Warns, Holder, Not, to, Interfere, w/Coates’, Commission, on, Civil, Rights, Testimony
Marked as: approved
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