Interim U.S. attorney for Western District of Mo. denies

Daily Record and the Kansas City Daily News-Press, Jun 6, 2007 by Trish Mehaffey

Bradley Schlozman told the Senate Judiciary Committee he didn't think filing a voter-fraud lawsuit shortly before the 2006 election would affect the outcome.

The interim U.S. attorney for Western District of Missouri in 2006 and former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Schlozman had filed charges in November against four Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now workers and a lawsuit in October against the state over voter-registration records.

Several Democrat senators questioned Schlozman on Tuesday about the timing of the lawsuit, and most repeatedly said they doubted he didn't know the lawsuit could affect the outcome of the election.

He said the Public Integrity section of the Department of Justice and deputy attorney general's office advised him to go ahead with the indictments. No justice department or White House officials were involved, he said.

Jonah Goldman, director of National Campaign for Fair Elections, who was at the hearing, said that wasn't the procedure of the Justice Department. Schlozman would have to initiate investigation, and then it would be passed onto to the Public Integrity section.

Goldman is also with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, a nonprofit group that provides legal services to address racial and ethnic discrimination and protects voting rights.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked why he pursued the charges if the state was already handling it.

Schlozman said the charges violated federal laws, and he wasn't aware Jackson County prosecutors were also taking any action.

He admitted to Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that if he had waited to file the indictments after the election, it wouldn't have affected the case.

Feinstein then asked Schlozman whether Graves, former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, was asked to resign because of his refusal to file a voter-fraud lawsuit against the state.

Schlozman, who replaced Graves, said he didn't know Graves had been asked to resign, not until he read about it in the newspapers.

"I wasn't involved," he said. "I don't know who made that decision.

Schlozman filed the lawsuit after Graves refused. The suit alleged the state and the secretary of state failed to purge files of voters who had died, changed addresses or moved.

A federal judge dismissed the suit in April 2007, ruling the Justice Department failed to produce evidence that any Missouri resident was denied his right to vote.

The committee also asked Schlozman whether he considered political affiliation when hiring career employees in the civil rights division. Schlozman was a senior official in the division.

Schlozman said hadn't considered hires based on party affiliation, loyalty to the president, how they voted or position on public policy issues.

Schumer asked him whether he told candidates to hide conservative or Republican connections on their resumes.

He said he didn't but might have told them to take off organizations that were irrelevant to their positions. He repeatedly said he couldn't remember how many or who they were.

Graves then appeared before the committee to testify about why he resigned and the voter-fraud lawsuit he refused to file.

Graves said Michael Battle, of the Justice Department, had called him and told him he needed to step down and make room for another. He wasn't bitter and still remains loyal to the goals of the administration, he said.

He said Battle had assured him it wasn't about his performance, and there had been no misconduct.

Graves said he was angry about comments from Monica Goodling, former attorney general's aide. She testified Graves' resignation was based on an Office of Inspector General investigation.

Graves said the investigation stemmed from Graves' attending a fundraiser in 2002 involving his brother, Rep. Sam Graves. The report concluded Graves didn't violate the Hatch Act, which prohibits political activities for federal employees. The event was for Vice President Cheney, and Graves was invited to have his picture taken with him after the fundraiser.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., asked Graves about the voter- fraud lawsuit and whether it was the reason he was asked to resign.

Graves, who appeared before the committee for about 15 minutes, said he didn't know.