Coates, originally a President Clinton appointee who worked in the voting section for 13 years, testified that Civil Rights Division leadership under President Obama instructed voting section lawyers not to pursue cases against minorities. He said the section caved to pressure not to pursue the New Black Panther case from civil rights groups like the NAACP.

Furthermore, Coates said he was ordered not to ask potential hires if they were willing to enforce the law in a race-neutral manner, as that was given to imply potential prosecution of minorities.

“Enforcing the Voting Rights Act in a racially selective manner or choosing not to enforce certain provisions of federal voting law is not in compliance with the oath we have taken,” Coates said.

His testimony lined up with the allegations made by former Civil Rights Division attorney J. Christian Adams, who resigned from the voting section in May, frustrated with what he saw as unequal enforcement of the law. Adams had testified about those issues before the commission previously. “It was a relief that the rest of the country now knows the truth,” he told me after the hearing.