The Bradley Schlozman saga might have some life left in it, yet.
The Justice Department is reviewing a decision made earlier this year under the Bush Administration not to charge Schlozman, the former official who was found by an Inspector General report to have made false statements to the Senate about whether he considered political affiliations in hiring.
A DOJ spokesman told TPMmuckraker today the Schlozman case is “under review,” confirming that Attorney General Eric Holder is acting on a promise he made during his confirmation hearings to take another look at the case.
An IG report released in January found Schlozman broke federal law by considering ideological affiliations in hiring at the department’s Civil Rights Division. The report also found Schlozman falsely denied he considered politics in hiring in sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In an exchange with Sen. Dianne Feinstein during his confirmation hearing in mid-January, Holder said he would “review that determination” not to prosecute Schlozman.
While Feinstein’s question to Holder focused on the perjury issue, the DOJ isn’t releasing any information about the review in progress, so it’s unclear whether charges for the underlying hiring decisions as well as for perjury are under consideration.
A special counsel to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia told TPMmuckraker in January that the office had been directed to look only at possible perjury charges for Schlozman — not charges related to the hiring decisions themselves. The office investigated and decided not to bring charges.
The attorney who represented Schlozman at the time the IG report was released did not return calls seeking comment.