U.S. Attorney Mess: DOJ Files First Grand-Jury Referral

[WSJ Law Blog]

There he is, the pink bunny, banging his drum and doing his thing, oblivious to burnout. And so it goes for the U.S. attorney mess, which recently reached a major milestone: DOJ lawyers have filed the first grand-jury referral in the scandal, which is now in its second year.

According to the WSJ’s Evan Perez, the referral relates to allegations of political meddling in the DOJ’s civil-rights division, and focuses on possible perjury by Bradley Schlozman, who served a year as interim U.S. attorney in Kansas City following the forced resignation of his predecessor, Todd P. Graves. Schlozman left the 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.

While the referral marks the first time the scandal has moved beyond the investigative phase, it’s not an indication that criminal charges will be filed. Schlozman declined to comment.

Separate investigations into the department’s handling of the prosecutor firings and related issues, which are being conducted by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility and the Inspector General, are expected to be completed within the next few weeks, lawyers familiar with the probe said. Both want to abide by department guidelines aimed at clearing up politically sensitive investigations well before the elections, to avoid accusations they could influence the outcome.