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Embattled Bush Official Resigns Justice Post

August 22, 2007 1:03 PM

Embattledbush_mn Facing multiple investigations, a senior Justice Department appointee has resigned his post.

Bradley Schlozman stepped down from his position as a counsel in the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, a branch of the Department of Justice, last week, a Justice spokesman confirmed Wednesday.

Schlozman, a key figure in several political controversies, is under investigation by the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility for allegations he was involved in politicizing hiring and firing decisions at the Justice Department. He is also a subject of the congressional probe into the U.S. attorneys firing scandal.

Last year, the 36-year-old Kansas native took a U.S. attorney post in Missouri after its previous holder, Todd Graves, was dismissed. Graves has said he refused to sign off on a lawsuit involving the state's voter rolls. The suit went forward anyway. This year, a court ruled against the Justice Department in the matter. The department is appealing the ruling.  Schlozman had backed the case from Washington.

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Once he became a U.S. attorney, Schlozman apparently broke with Justice Department policy, by filing a criminal voter fraud indictment against a liberal activist group within a week of the 2006 election. A department manual instructs staff that "most, if not all, investigation of an alleged election crime must await the end of the election to which the allegation relates."

His actions sparked concerns from many quarters, including veteran Justice Department attorneys, that he was attempting to influence the election for a U.S. Senate seat, which was close. They also fueled a growing belief among congressional Democrats that the dismissal of Graves and several other U.S. attorneys was part of an effort to use U.S. attorneys' offices for the benefit of the Republican party.

A federal judge dismissed the case in April. Schlozman told a Senate panel in June he did not believe his actions were going to influence the election, and that he was unaware of the group's political leaning.

During his time at Justice, Schlozman was no stranger to controversy. He was reportedly one of the handful of Bush appointees at the Justice Department who signed off on a 2003 plan to redraw Texas congressional districts and create more Republican-controlled seats, designed by then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Tex. The plan was opposed by career lawyers under him, who believed it disenfranchised minority voters. The Supreme Court later ruled parts of the plan were unconstitutional.

In 2003, Schlozman became a senior official at the department's Civil Rights division, which reviews and prosecutes cases of voter disenfranchisement. During his tenure, dozens of career lawyers left the office after sharply disagreeing with him and other political appointees over how to handle important cases.

Those departures, along with boasts by Schlozman that he increased the number of Republicans he had hired into the department, have driven concern that Schlozman brought an improper focus on political affiliation and activity at the Justice Department. Schlozman has denied those accusations, although he acknowledges he may have boasted about the number of Republicans he had hired.

Schlozman's resignation, which was first reported by the Web site TPMmuckraker.com, makes him the sixth figure connected to the U.S. attorney scandal to resign in recent months.

A Justice Department spokesman said Schlozman was moving to the Midwest to join a law firm there. Schlozman did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

Photo courtesy of the Justice Department.

Do you have a tip for Brian Ross and the Investigative Team?

This post has been revised.

August 22, 2007 | Permalink | User Comments (58)

User Comments

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To all those who said Clinton did the same thing.... You guys are wrong. You guys just don't get it, do you????

It's one thing to put your people in office. It's another to have those people use those offices to prosecute your political rivals and bend the law so that your party has an unfair advantage. This is what Nixon did, got caught for it and got impeached for. And this is what GW is doing also.

You guys just don't get it do you. This is a democracy. And I PO'd when someone is trying to eliminate my ability to fairly vote for who I want to run this country.

And running this country is different that using your position to eliminate my freedom of choice!!!! Do ya get it now????

Posted by: Roy | Aug 22, 2007 4:21:13 PM

GW you should be smart enough to know your associates dirty laundry has been showing long enough to make you look like you need to find a laundry quick. Gonzalez and others you have picked need to go the way of Tom Delay. The country would be better served by it. It is time to replace most if not all on Capitol Hill, the sooner the better.

Posted by: Bruzer | Aug 22, 2007 5:02:53 PM

What about speedy Gonzalez...shouldn't he be the first to resign? Bush and Cheney too should resgin for the good of the country. That's my opinion!

Posted by: wmd5 | Aug 22, 2007 5:27:01 PM

I believe the word Republican is a synonym for "Lying, Cheating, Corrupt ***".

Democrat is synonymous with "Fainting Goat".

Our politicians SUCK.

Posted by: Ten2 | Aug 22, 2007 5:33:03 PM

2000 redux? Uh, uh.
2002 redux? Uh, uh.
2004 redux? Uh, uh.

Diebold et al in flames. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison must be dancing in their graves. "...If you can keep it."

Posted by: Dan | Aug 22, 2007 5:37:59 PM

So what is the reply by the right to all this criminality?


Clinton, Clinton, Clinton,Clinton,Clinton,
Clinton, Clinton, Clinton,Clinton,Clinton,
Clinton, Clinton, Clinton,Clinton,Clinton,

Posted by: Robert Cochran | Aug 22, 2007 5:40:06 PM

I am a us soldier and I am leaving the country and moving to canada once I get out. It makes me sick that this country is turning into another Iran we sit there and degrade Iran for being a fundamentalist regime and violating human rights but we are doing the same thing and worse to our own people. This country is turning into a Saddam dictatorship no matter what party is running it!!!!!!! Our Democracy is gone!!! Theocratic republic here we go!!!

Posted by: usaman | Aug 22, 2007 6:00:44 PM

Rats jumping ship. Rove, Schlozman - I bet something's about to explode in the Attorney Firing scandal. I bet it gets aired at the time we get the Iraq report, so the press ignores it - typical Bush Administration coordination of press releases.

We must hold them accountable. The Constitution is at stake.

Posted by: CW | Aug 22, 2007 6:24:57 PM

I think there are conservative operatives who ply these waters trying to create smoke. Bush tried to make the Justice Department an extension of the RNC. Look at conservative values. If Clinton was a crook, it's alright that Bush is a cook. "Two wrongs never made a right." Then, we have the ignorant pretense if you think Bush is the most corrupt president in history, you had to have liked Clinton. There is no correlation between the two!

Posted by: Mike Johnson | Aug 22, 2007 6:28:35 PM

I love the United States. I am a Vet. Does it really matter who is in office? A regular, everyday person could never get elected to any office. If your not a millionaire, you will never, ever get elected, period. Both parties have an agenda and will do anything to be in power. What man or woman worth millions, really cares about you or me? We fight and argue about who's right, who's wrong. Who did what when. Get over it!!! they will do whatever they want to do and nobody can stop them!! Wake up.

Posted by: James | Aug 22, 2007 7:02:26 PM

The Republican party is corrupt, greedy, sleezy, immoral, cunning, deceptive, lying, unchristian, selfserving, and disgusting. A blight to our country and our way of life. All who hold an office or a job in the government should be thoroughly scrutinized and investigated for crimes such as these.

Posted by: JLW | Aug 22, 2007 7:12:48 PM

Two wrongs ALWAYS make a right--a neocon right, anyway.

Posted by: Dan | Aug 22, 2007 7:33:16 PM

I am the daughter of a 20 year Green Beret with 2 tours of Nam. My entire family has been in service.

NEVER AGAIN.

I too, moved to Canada recently. This sickness of WAR FOR PROFIT has been going on for 50+ years and no-one appears to care. I protested for years until I finally "got it".

WAKE UP - true AMERICAN patriots!

Posted by: SoldierDaughter | Aug 22, 2007 8:10:49 PM

DOES ANYONE HEVR INFORMATION ON WHEN FORMENT TEXAS REPRESENTATIVE TOM dELAY IS SCHEDULED TO GO TO TRIAL. IS IT GOING TO BE SOMETIM BEFORE THE SECOND COMING?. PLEASE WRITE DIRECT TO EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU WISH, AND INCLUDE INFOR ON WHERE YOU FOUND YOUR INFORMATION.

Posted by: lindera8 | Aug 22, 2007 8:42:35 PM

Are you kidding me Krueger? We are in this mess today because it's all Clinton's fault?! Yeah, that's right- it was Clinton who ignored a dire memo the summer of 2001: "bin Laden will attack America" to go a vacationing for a month. Yeah, that's right, it was Clinton who, again on another month-long vacation, ignored the city of New Orleans as it drowned, to raise money for Republicans partying with fellow millionaires and their fund-raising BBQ's instead. That's right, it was Clinton who fired the generals (those pesky true soldiers who better suit the title, 'Commander-in-Chief' than AWOL National Guardsboy Bush), who told him that invading Iraq required way more soldiers and planning than the draft-dodging duo of Rumsfeld & Cheney had in mind. That's right, it was Clinton who wire-tapped millions of Americans and tortured men contained in "camps" with never a trial, much less EVIDENCE; who when exposed, said he could and would continue to do so. That's right, it was Clinton who raised taxes on the poor and slashed for the rich, that seven years later- is showing the portents of where that's leading us. That's right, it was Clinton who awarded billions in no-bid contracts to "re-build" Iraq, a country invaded on lies. That's right, it was Clinton whose Vice President was once CEO of THE No.# corporation "re-building" the country his VP wanted to invade- more than anyone- and whose networth has tripled since 2001, thanks to dividend checks received from that No.1 company he's "resigned" from... Yeah, that's right Krueger, it's been Clinton all along. I could go on, but I must stop; I've reached the edge of the world- you know, the flat one you and your fellow sheep live on.

Posted by: Maira | Aug 22, 2007 9:03:01 PM

Was or is there even one honest person connected with the Bush administration? From where I sit, it looks as though they are all criminals (or should be considered such).

Posted by: Sasi1 | Aug 22, 2007 11:04:27 PM

Roy... if you are going to try to make a point please have your facts right. only 2 times in the history of the presidency has a president been charged with articles of impeachment by the house of representitives. Andrew Johnson, and Bill Clinton. Bot were not convicted by the senate. Though sleezy and paranoid Richard Nixon opted to pull a Karl Rove and resign before it was to late... now do you get it

Posted by: Brian | Aug 22, 2007 11:48:40 PM

usaman, I wish your anger could be heard by many people, not just here in this post. I sure hope that you get to speak out before you move to Canada.

Today on Hardball, some right-winger from a very conservative magazine was speaking out for the war. As soon as anyone else said anything, all we heard was "clinton clinton clinton clinton".

Then, Ari Fleisher was on talking about his ads that are beginning to run to tout the Iraq War and convince people that we need to remain in there and not "cut and run". The ad they ran had a vet from Iraq talking about the war. This guy had lost a leg and when they filmed him, you could see his injury. He claimed that if we leave Iraq prematurely, it will jeopardize everything he had done there. Someone asked Ari who the soldier was who spoke in the ad and Ari DID NOT KNOW. Boy, did he look stupid. Ari sounds just like he always did--and refuses to let anyone else speak or be interrupted.

These guys are IDIOTS. I hope that once they are out of office, they can be charged and there's no pardons then!!

Posted by: DemWoman | Aug 22, 2007 11:54:26 PM

The Elections got fixed and their work was done anyway.

Posted by: Glenn McGahee | Aug 23, 2007 7:44:55 AM

Some of you posters get it and some of you don't have a clue. It is so easy to see who is who and the comedy is deep. Bush and Cheney should resign but don't know that by not resigning they will bury the republican party...GOOD. Tom Delay may never go to trial because he is in the initial throes of alzheimers and that would make an excellent defense. He could then sit in a managed care facility and drool his life away. The military needs to blame their "christy crusade" leaders who led them into the disaster they are now enjoying...torture and neo nazi skin heads R US...malingering never served republicans deserve the collapse they are on and they want you to join their misery...apple butter anyone?????

Posted by: daddy | Aug 23, 2007 10:29:18 AM

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