Remember Bradley Schlozman? Possible Perjury
Remember the U.S. Attorney purge scandal? The travesty in which the White House and the Justice Department politicized federal law enforcement? It was, for my money, among the biggest Bush-related domestic scandals of the last eight years (top three, at least).
It is not, however, quite over yet.
Justice Department lawyers have filed a grand-jury referral stemming from the 2006 U.S. attorneys scandal, according to people familiar with the probe, a move indicating that the yearlong investigation may be entering a new phase.
The grand-jury referral, the first time the probe has moved beyond the investigative phase, relates to allegations of political meddling in the Justice Department’s civil-rights division, these people say. Specifically, it focuses on possible perjury by Bradley Schlozman, who served a year as interim U.S. attorney in Kansas City, Mo.
Mr. Schlozman left the Justice Department last year after he was challenged over his hiring of conservative lawyers at the civil-rights division and his decision later as U.S. attorney to bring voter-fraud charges against members of a left-leaning voter-registration group days before the 2006 election.
Schlozman, an inept character who’s almost amusing in his clumsiness, has a very serious problem on his hands, which will not only lead to the likely criminal prosecution of a former top official in Bush’s Justice Department, but once again bring into focus how the Bush administration operated.
It’s easy to get confused over which comically corrupt Bushie is which, so let’s take a quick stroll down memory lane. It’s a funny story, actually....
When it comes to the politicization of the Justice Department, Schlozman was actually at the heart of two scandals. The first was Schlozman’s decision as the former U.S. Attorney for Kansas City, to bring highly dubious indictments against a left-leaning voter-registration group shortly before the ‘06 midterm elections.
The other deals with Schlozman’s responsibilities as the deputy head of the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department. He assured the Senate Judiciary Committee, under oath, that his employment decisions were entirely above-board, and not at all based on political considerations.
If senators were able to peak below his witness table, they might have noticed that his pants were on fire.
Karen Stevens, Tovah Calderon and Teresa Kwong had a lot in common. They had good performance ratings as career lawyers in the Justice Department’s civil rights division. And they were minority women transferred out of their jobs [three] years ago — over the objections of their immediate supervisors — by Bradley Schlozman, then the acting assistant attorney general for civil rights.
Schlozman ordered supervisors to tell the women that they had performance problems or that the office was overstaffed. But one lawyer, Conor Dugan, told colleagues that the recent Bush appointee had confided that his real motive was to “make room for some good Americans” in that high-impact office, according to four lawyers who said they heard the account from Dugan.
In another politically tinged conversation recounted by former colleagues, Schlozman asked a supervisor if a career lawyer who had voted for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a onetime political rival of President Bush, could still be trusted.
That last one is a particular favorite. In the fall of 2004, Schlozman asked DoJ supervisors about the “loyalty” of division lawyer Angela Miller. She was a Republican who clerked for a conservative federal appeals judge, but Schlozman learned (it’s not clear how) that Miller backed McCain in a 2000 primary. Schlozman asked Miller’s bosses, “Can we still trust her?”
When the Bush gang insisted on “good Americans,” they applied a fairly narrow set of standards.
Indeed, not all of the standards were ideological. Schlozman targeted minority women, whose on-the-job performance was unquestioned, apparently because Schlozman wasn’t convinced that they would be “team players.” In other words, to qualify as a “good American,” you not only had to be conservative, but you also had to be a white guy.
And these were the standards used by the man Bush asked to help lead the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.
Now, keep in mind, Schlozman acknowledged that he bragged about hiring Republicans and conservatives for the Civil Rights Division, but insisted it was all talk. To apply partisan/ideological standards to career employees at a government agency would be illegal, so Schlozman insisted that nothing improper took place.
But literally everyone around him believes he was lying. Blatantly.
“When he said he didn’t engage in political hiring, most of us thought that was just laughable,” said one lawyer in the section, referring to Schlozman’s June 5 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Everything Schlozman did was political. And he said so.” […]
Schlozman and several deputies also took an unusual interest in the assignment of office responsibility for appellate cases and, according to the lawyers and one of the supervisors, repeatedly ordered Flynn to take cases away from career lawyers with expertise and hand them to recent hires whose resumes listed membership in conservative groups, including the Federalist Society.
Schlozman was put in an untenable position — he could acknowledge what he’d done at the DoJ (and necessarily admit that he broke the law) or he could deny everything (and risk perjury charges). He chose the latter.
And now a grand jury is going to hear all about it.
David Iglesius briefly mentioned this on the Daily Show this week. Interesting.
Looks like the Obama Justice Department is going to have to hire a few more prosecutors.
Has bush already issued a pardon for him?
Obama's going to need a George W. Bush division in the Justice Department to handle all the prosecutions just caused by all the Bushies.
This guy sounds like he has the mentality to be another Brownie.
God, I can't wait till Bush and his cronies are finally out of the White House. Everything they have done is not only criminal but so partisan it makes my head spin. They have destoyed the Military, DOJ, subjected Americans to toxic food and toys, raped the environment, suspended workers rights, dismantled worker protection, put cronies in high level jobs for which they had no experience, and hired partisan hacks, like this idiot, to oversee our Justice Dept. How could Americans be so blind?
Isn't this the schmuck that asked to delay his testimony last summer because he was going on vacation?
And, didn't the Judiciary Committee grant him his request?
I'll get outraged/excited/hopeful when I see something more tangible than talking come from these hearings. I'm tired of the pontificating and posing for photo ops (Congress, not the Bush criminals themselves) pretending they are actually getting something done.
David Iglesius said that yes the U.S. attorneys serve at the president's discretion, but that it was unprecedented (and he stressed this word) for U.S. attorneys to be let go in the middle of a president's term or terms in office. Very telling. And the Bush administration insists on these talking points about Clinton firing U.S. attorneys. Oh, how they twist things and the media go right along with them.
Chris @ 4:
He will need one for Bush and one for Cheney - Cheney is deserving of a Justice Department solely devoted to his antics by himself.
Starting with how he shot a man in the face during a hunting trip and got the victim to apologize for how much trouble his getting shot caused for Cheney.
AAAllllvin!
I hope they nail him and he rolls on Abu.
P.D. @ 6:
How can Americans be so blind?
Corporate Media
Religion
Greed
Enlisting in the military
With Bush's poll numbers so low right nowthere's little reason for DOJ to protect itself so it seems like a few people in DOJ are saying "what the heck, let's do something so it seems like we're working." Beside, they know that if anyone is really convicted of anything Bushie will pardon them, for sure.
The funniest part of this story is that this guy was so far right he thought McSame and his supporters were not trustworthy to carry forth the Bush/Cheney Evangelical Jihad. Watching the Repuglicans eat their own has been the only beneficial aspect of this administration. This ludicrous notion that John McSame isn't a goose-stepping conservative is only allowed by those too lazy to examine the facts.
I think the Democratic congress should send him a stern letter.
No i am not a right wing troll, just upset at the ineptness of our elected democratic leaders to do anything to htese criminals, except issue stern letters. Rove was pissing his pants when he got the letter...NOT!
this is why the bush administration has been difficult to seriously challenge....their team is stacked on many layers....prerequisites.....dirty and loyal to a fault
Possibly perjured himself?
Every Justice Department official who testified perjured him or herself.
It was their duty as as loyal sevants to the Sith Lords!
...blah, blah, blah. mid-level White House/Justice Department crony accused of...blah, blah, blah, crimes against nature, blah, blah, blah, bad lying, blah, blah, blah...
When are we going to get to the main event??? Impeach GW and Dick already!
Boonie @ 17:
i am withyou but it's not going to happen...we need to focus on white house than we will get these clowns
Chris @ 4:
Not to mention investigating treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Most of the people we have seen who were involved with this firing of the attorneys just doesn't seem to be too smart. I guess you take what you can get when you are looking for small time crooks to carry water for you. People like this guy may think the the administration will bail him out but I think he has been used up and forgotten by the bush crowd.
Brad doesn't seem like the kind of guy who will handle prison very well. Maybe he'll be the crack in the dam.
pissed off patricia @ 5:
Hash brownie?
Throw all Dumbya's Reslug. criminals in prison.
This may also mean that "Bradley Schlozman" will wind up on the Stephanie Miller news segment tomorrow morning, with Jim's hilarious impression of "The Schloz" ........ gad I love that radio show.
Wide-hipped narrow-shouldered guys like the Schloz are very popular in prison one would think. A close shave, a touch of make-up....
Bush: "Memo to me: Put Schlozman on the Pardon List."
Well!! Looks like we know who the fall guy is.
I guess now we will find out if he was smart enough to "put something away" to cover his ass. If not he better have something or his dumb ass is going down.
Gotta suck when they blame the "bad apples" especially when you are the one taking the fall.
Brad's not as dumb as he acted in the Senate hearings. But he is every bit the whiny little opportunistic twerp. He just might have a "mail this to the press in case anything happens to me" envelope.
If "Squeaky Mc Goatee" has to testify again I'm going to have to watch it dubbed in spanish.
He makes Owen Meany sound like James Earl Jones.
moondancer @ 25:
We could wish for a fate like that for Schlozman, but it's more likely that if he is not pardoned altogether, he would wind up in a place where he could order a prison guard to put more ice in his high ball, or chocolates on his pillow. There's justice for you.
"In other words, to qualify as a “good American,” you not only had to be conservative, but you also had to be a white guy."
Without being too inflammatory, I think that if you bear in mind that what they meant in a 'good American' was someone who would lie, cheat and break the law, the above statement is not nearly as offensive as it appears... to minority women. After all, in translation it comes out: Get rid of the minority women, they are too honest and law abiding to be employed in a criminal enterprise.
Top Five Bush scandals:
1. The Iraq War
2. The handling of Katrina
3. FISA/warrantless spying
4. US Attorney purge
5. Gitmo
John W @ 32:
Just to clarify #4 in case its not clear why its a big deal. The U.S. Attorney purge was part of a larger operation to politicize the entire federal govt, to function as part of the Republican party's re-election strategy.
Oh, Brad...what were you thinking? Doesn't what happens in prison ever come to mind when one does dumb shit like this? I know one never believes one will get caught (we're all so clever), you just may be going down for some real time.
I'd hate to think so, but you may want a little speech therapy to get that voice down an octave or so...you know what I mean?
to post number 6 "would we have a beer with this guy"? that's why the american people are so stupid that and the MSM doesn't report the screw ups in this administration unless of course it kicks them in the ass Katrina, Gitmo, housing collaspe etc.....
to post 31 wasn't there a minority in HUD and AG was also a minority there have been a few white women in positions that have been less than honest so just being white doesn't mean that they were fit for the job
Steve, the move forward by this administration towards its goals has been relentless and unswerving. They have obstructed justice, destroyed documents (5 million emails and crushed the hard drives they were on), sealed documents (first thing Bush did), locked down access to information in the name of national security and more. What this administration is known to have been up to is an insignificant part of what they have probably been up to - which is unknown for the reasons mentioned.
The worse things are unknown. Therefore the acts resulting in this secrecy must be the worse thing. I suspect they will burn the administrations records to the ground on their way out to hide the truth.
There is one last thing that people dont mention. This administration has funneled trillions (yes trillions) of dollars to people and companies on the same partisan page as them. What does that mean? It means you and yours are fighting the most heavily benefited and funded political group in history. You wont get rid of them any time soon.
Best C&L typo in months: "If senators were able to peak below his witness table...."
One of the problems with the Senate -- when the issue is behavior under the witness table -- is how they peak, instead of peek.
Considering that it took over a year to move from indictment to conviction in Scooter's case, I'd propose that it's highly unlikely that this one will slip away with a commuted sentence. Hallelujah, perhaps the real criminals might yet see the inside of a prison cell. Maybe we can get a few more indictments in before these slimeballs figure out that the fix is in and buy their airplane tickets.
Meantime, anyone else spend any time this afternoon watching C-SPAN 3? If irony were a stick, I'd be first in line to thrash the next crybaby Bushie to gripe that Boumediene v. Bush is the worst decision since Dred Scott. Bastards.
kakaya zanuda @ 39:
Not necessarily:
"Weinberger had been charged by independent counsel Lawrence Walsh with four counts of lying to congressional Iran-Contra investigators in 1987 and to Walsh's prosecutors in 1990. His case involved allegations that he had concealed from congressional investigators his personal notes that detailed events related to Iran-Contra and which reportedly undermined what then-President Reagan said about the origins and operations of the covert arms-for-hostages dealings. Weinberger had pleaded not guilty and said he was being unfairly prosecuted.
"Although a president has unlimited pardon powers, it is highly unusual to pardon someone before trial and conviction. The best-known precedent -- following the Watergate political scandal during the Nixon administration -- was former President Ford's pardon in 1974 of former President Nixon, who was never indicted." -snip-
http://www.fas.org/news/iran/1992/921224-260039.htm
Filthy Harry @ 33:
FWIW, although I've been following all the scandals all along, it was the U.S. Atty one that really grabbed me. Too many good people pursuing too many GOPer crimes--and they all get fired at once?
This was so obviously corrupt from the very beginning--and I do mean Dec. 7 when the story first broke. When they destroy the DoJ (and habeas corpus) they destroy our constitution and our republic.
But then: isn't that what the GOP is all about? Turning this into an oligarchy? The rest of us are merely peasants, in their eyes.
This is damning indeed, but I still believe that the FISA scandal is still the meatiest and that it will be the telecomms looking to save their own ass that eventually damns the bush presidency.
Unfortunately, America still cares more about who advances on American Idol.
I posted in another thread that I saw (former General) Anthony Teguba on C-Span hearings, and he radiated humility and honesty.
Suffice it to say that this asshole is the anti-Teguba. He positively oozed obfuscation and bullshit. It was so obvious that his voting fraud case was both partisan AND against Justice Dept. guidelines.
I hope he gets what he gets what he deserves.
Did anyone else hear Jim's voice from the Stephanie Miller in their head saying "Its the SCHLOZ!! BRADLEY SCHLOZMAN!" HAHAHAHA. With the flaven and the lady..........
John W @ 32:
John, you're both right - and wrong - because you forgot something: the TOP BUSH SCANDAL is also the biggest scandal in American history: The orchestrated outing of a covert CIA agent - Valerie Plame - during war time - by the Vice President and his staff, which was then ignored and dismissed by the President of The United States.
That's called treason - and that's what it was.
Meanwhile, getting back to Little Mister Bradley Schlozman, I've often wondered why it is - when so much of our National discourse concerns RELIGION - that we rarely ever read about what affiliation various and sundry Washington types like Brad have.
Schlozman is a German surname, right? So, is Brad a Lutheran? A Jew? A Roman Catholic? Why isn't this kind of information standard reporting? If "religious values" are so freekin' important to our National dialogue - and I've been repeatedly brow-beaten by the media that it IS for the past twenty years, at least - why then don't we see things like: "Bradley Schlozman, a devout Lutheran, will be testifying before Congress today ....." in our everyday news? It can't not be important or germane to the situation at hand. An individual's spiritual beliefs and practices, in fact, speak directly to the ways in which they conduct their daily lives.
Don't they?
So when John Doe, a "committed", fundamentalist Methodist, murders and dismembers his wife - and then buries the parts of her body that he doesn't eat in his basement, aren't his cherished spiritual values part of his story?
Please don't misinterpret what I'm trying to say; I'm not attacking anybody's religion - I'm merely suggesting that one's religious beliefs and practices are an important part of the overall story.
Just sayin' ....
Schlozman? That ain't no "good American" like name!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, why do we get our best news & interviews from the Daily Show, Letterman & Colbert? Today I watched part of the Russert tribute & was a little appalled at the complete reverence at the man who asked questions less tough than the comedians.
Another thing that bothered me was the near complete blackout and exclusion of Mike Wallace (yeah, I know Faux) in any of the tributes. As I rode from Kern county last week I learned of Russerts death & Wallace had some of the kindest and decent comments, certainly more than George Stephanopolous. While I don't pretend to like Faux, Wallace stands apart from that network in many ways.
You could tell from the interview with Stewart that Iglasias was far more comfortable and forthcoming on the Daily Show than any other show or host. They downright bantered and said Schlozmans name at practically the same time when talking about potential criminal acts of AG's. Hmmmm.
I think it is JUST as important to go after Bush & Cheney's minions... people like Schlozman! It sends the message that there will be consequences and reprecussions for breaking the law, no matter who told you to do it and no matter whose example you are following! That is not to say that Bush & Cheney should be allowed to leave office and live in peace, however it may bolster the resolve of others who want to do the right thing and scare those who think it is okay to do the wrong thing.
This gent may be one of the early under the bus candidates. I have never seen anyone give such stupid answers in testimony outside of old Gonzo himself of course. Doug Feith may going down soon too seeing as he was to scared to turn up to testify alongside Lawrence Wilkinson today.
THE SCHLOZ! *drama sting*
If he's such a good American, why does he have an "Evil Spock" beard?
The next legitimate President seriously needs to begin an attrition purge of Federalist Society influence on the nations judiciary. The program should continue until membership in this well heeled and buttoned down cult of advocacy fascisms and any clones it may spawn become career suicide.
The man's name is "Schlozman." He didn't stand a chance at NOT growing up to be a sleazeball.
sulphurdunn @ 52:
I'm afraid that will never, ever happen. The Federalist Society is so deep-rooted into the political system that it may be impossible to rid it of them.
Comments are closed on this entry