Schlozman Under Fire From Senate Over Effort To Squash Voter Suppression Probe

[cal04]

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that former Minnesota U.S. Attorney Thomas Heffelfinger may have been targeted for removal by the Justice Department because of his role in protecting the rights of Native American voters.

Heffelfinger, who resigned last year for personal reasons, had raised concerns that an effort by the Republican Secretary of State, Mary Kiffmeyer, to bar certain uses of Tribal IDs for voter identification would result in electoral discrimination against Indian voters.

Heffelfinger’s efforts to dig deeper into the issue were blocked by two controversial political appointees in the Department, Bradley Schlozman and Hans von Spakovsky, who used bureaucratic measures to prevent an internal department investigation:

After reviewing the matter, Rich recommended opening an investigation.

In response, he said, Bradley Schlozman, a political appointee in the department, told Rich “not to do anything without his approval” because of the “special sensitivity of this matter.”

Rich responded by suggesting that more information be gathered from voting officials in the Twin Cities area, which includes Minnesota’s two most populous counties.

A message came back from another Republican official in the department, Hans von Spakovsky, saying Rich should not contact the county officials but should instead deal only with the secretary of state’s office.

Von Spakovsky indicated, Rich said, that working with Kiffmeyer’s office reduced the likelihood of a leak to the news media.

The orders from Schlozman and Von Spakovsky, who wielded unusual power in the civil rights division, effectively ended any department inquiry, Rich said.

Yesterday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wrote to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about Schlozman’s upcoming testimony to Congress, urging Leahy to question him “closely” about:

– his efforts to effectively quash the investigation into possible voter discrimination against Native Americans;

– what role, if any, Tom Heffelfinger’s efforts to protect the voting rights of Minnesota’s Native American communities placed him on the Department’s now infamous list for termination.

Schlozman, who is suspected of politicizing the hiring of non-political jobs in the DoJ’s Civil Rights Division, will testify on Tuesday, June 5.

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/01/schlozman-letter/

[ananda]

1. Does anyone besides me..

.. find it appalling, disgusting, noisome, and really annoying
that rightwing talking heads and media personalities, as well
as elected and appointed officials, actually take a smarmy,
sanctimonious, righteous, and superior attitude while dissing
Dems and liberals for being Dems and liberals, in the wholly
false and lying allegation that there are real elections these
days?

Ugghhh

[L. Coyote]

2. Leahy, Specter Seek Cooperation From DOJ Official, Former Interim US Attorney

Leahy, Specter Seek Cooperation From DOJ Official, Former Interim US Attorney In Judiciary Panel's DOJ/US Attorney Probe

May 7, 2007


Mr. Bradley Schlozman
Office of the Counsel to the Director
Executive Office for United States Attorneys
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 2242
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Schlozman:

The Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting an ongoing investigation into politicization of the hiring, firing, and decision-making of United States Attorneys. As part of the investigation, the Committee has learned that the concerns of some in the Administration about voter fraud may have played a significant role in the consideration of U.S. Attorneys for possible dismissal.

According to the testimony of the Attorney General and D. Kyle Sampson, his former Chief of Staff who said he “aggregated” the list of U.S. Attorneys to fire, Karl Rove talked to the Attorney General about concern with voter fraud in districts in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New Mexico. One of these districts was that of David Iglesias, former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, who was subsequently added to the list of U.S. Attorneys to be replaced. In addition, among the documents produced by the Department of Justice is a 30-page report concerning alleged voting improprieties in Wisconsin in 2004 that contains handwritten notes suggesting a concern with prosecution of voter fraud in numerous districts.

Recent news accounts have suggested that Todd Graves, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri and the person you succeeded as an interim United States Attorney, may have been on a list for replacement because of his refusal to endorse a lawsuit against the State of Missouri alleging voter fraud before the 2006 election. This is a lawsuit you approved while Acting Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division and then filed soon after you were interim appointed as Mr. Graves’ successor by Attorney General Gonzales. Several weeks ago, a federal judge ruled in favor of Missouri in that case, finding “no evidence” of major voter fraud in the state.

We believe the Committee would benefit from hearing directly from you in order to gain a better understanding of the role voter fraud may have played in the Administration’s decisions to retain or remove certain U.S. Attorneys. We would like to work out a process for you to make yourself available to the Committee for interviews, depositions, or hearing testimony, on a voluntary basis, and to produce documents in your possession, control, or custody related to our investigation.