Report Raps Bradley Schlozman, Former Justice Department Official, for Political Bias

Political Favoritism for Conservatives Alleged

After their review of e-mails and other messages from Schlozman and interviews with his former colleagues, the investigators found that he "favored applicants with conservative political or ideological affiliations and disfavored applicants with civil rights or human rights experience whom he considered to be overly liberal."

In addition, he winnowed down the applicant pool for the prestigious jobs before allowing section chiefs in his division to review resumes, the report concluded.

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Schlozman testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2007, and under questioning from lawmakers, he said that he "did not" violate government statutes, which state that a candidate's political ideology cannot be considered when hiring for a so-called career position.

Based on Schlozman's statements during the hearing and his written responses to lawmakers' questions, investigators concluded that he was not truthful in his testimony.

Schlozman declined through his lawyer to be interviewed as part of the investigation, but attorney William Jordan released a lengthy statement on his behalf that criticized its findings.

In the statement, Jordan called the report "inaccurate, incomplete, biased, unsupported by the law and contrary to the facts." He noted that Schlozman underwent a polygraph examination, the results of which, he said, "demonstrated his testimony before Congress was truthful and accurate."

Contrary to the report, he said, Schlozman did hire and promote more than two dozen individuals "that he knew to be either ideologically liberal or Democrats." Schlozman hired employees based on their "academic records, respect for the rule of law and their ability to separate their personal views from the enforcement activities of the Civil Rights Division," said Jordan, and "he is justifiably proud of the individuals he hired and the record level of enforcement activity of the Civil Rights Division."

Schlozman, who now works for a law firm in Wichita, Kan., resigned from the department in September 2007, so he will not face any reprimand from the government. As noted in the report and by Jordan, the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington, D.C., received the report last year but declined to take any action against Schlozman.