Justice Department Official Sends Letter to Congress to 'Clarify' Past Testimony

June 12, 2007 — -- A Justice Department official has revised the testimony he gave last week before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the latest turn in the saga of the fired U.S. attorneys controversy.

Bradley Schlozman, who had served as the interim U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri, was sharply questioned by committee Democrats June 5 about the timing of an indictment he brought just days before the November 2006 election.

Those indicted were members of Acorn, a liberal activist group.

During the hearing, which was attended only by committee Democrats, Schlozman was extensively questioned about the timing of the indictments and about a Justice Department policy book on election fraud, which states, "Most if not all investigation of an alleged election crime must await the end of the election to which the allegation relates."

Schlozman told the panel June 5: "I acted at the direction of the director of the Election Crimes Branch in the Public Integrity Section. We asked whether he wanted us to go forward or delay until after the election, and he said, 'Go forward,' in e-mail traffic."

Schlozman sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Monday, in which he stated, "I wanted to take the opportunity to clarify my testimony with regard to the timing of the voter registration fraud indictments.

"I wanted to be clear that while I relied on the consultation with, and suggestions of the Elections Crimes Branch in bringing the indictments when I did, I take full responsibility for the decision to move forward with the prosecutions related to Acorn while I was the U.S. attorney," Schlozman's letter noted.

During last week's hearing, committee Democrats berated Schlozman, telling him his actions and the timing of the indictment could have chilled some voters' attitudes before the election.

"Would it have affected the prosecution, would it have affected your ability to bring the prosecution if you had just waited a few weeks until the election was over?" Leahy asked Schlozman at the hearing.