Hans von Spakovsky

Obama Camp Responds to Spakovsky's Hiring at Civil Rights Commission

Kate Klonick | August 22, 2008, 3:44PM

The Obama camp has issued a statement calling the hiring of voter suppression guru Hans von Spakovsky at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which we first reported yesterday, "unbelievable."

From Obama spokesman Michael Ortiz:

"Given Hans Von Spakovsky's controversial record on voting rights, it's unbelievable that he would now be offered a staff position with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, a federal entity charged with ensuring that voting rights are not violated. This is yet the latest indication that the Bush Administration is not serious about protecting the most fundamental right that protects all others - the right to vote."

This might be something that deserves looking into, oh, before November.

Hans von Spakovsky

He's Baaaack: Civil Rights Commission Hires Spakovsky to Work on Voting Rights

Kate Klonick | August 21, 2008, 12:14PM

It looks like Hans von Spakovsky, an old TPM favorite, is back in business. The former Justice Department official, whose nomination to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was thwarted when Democrats objected to his long record of support for restrictions on voting rights, has been hired as a "consultant and temporary full-time employee" at the ostensibly bi-partisan U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) the agency confirmed to TPMmuckraker.

If Spakovsky's history of backing efforts to make voting more difficult strikes you as a poor fit with the Commission's mission of defending voter rights, consider that of the eight current commissioners at the agency, only two are registered Democrats, a politicization that the New York Times' Charlie Savage brought to light last year.

Among Spakovsky's duties will be overseeing the USCCR's report on the Justice Department's monitoring of the 2008 presidential elections, a source inside the USCCR told TPMmuckraker.

Spakovsky's hiring is at the request of Commissioner Todd Gaziano, who works for the conservative Heritage Foundation on FEC issues and has defended Spakovsky in the press before. According to a federal government source, Gaziano has recommended Spakovsky at the government's highest payscale -- which would work out to about $124,010 annually if Spakovsky was to stay for an entire year.

And it seems that Gaziano may not have been exactly excited to make his selection of Spakovsky public knowledge. At a July 28th meeting (pdf) where the commissioners approved the hiring of the "special assistants," the new hires identities were kept confidential. According to the transcript of the meeting, when one of the commissioners asked for more information on the identity of who was being hired, the question was never answered.

So where is the money coming from? Well it turns out that USCCR is about $400,000 (pdf) under budget, and something had to be done with all that money before December. Although according to a federal source, the agency has other pressing needs -- understaffing and out-of-date technology -- the commissioners decided instead to spend at least part of that money on four temporary staff assistants.

Attempts to contact Graziano were referred to the Commission public affairs office. Calls to Spakovsky were not immediately returned.

Civil Rights Division

Spakovsky Subpoenaed in Civil Rights Department Probe

Kate Klonick | August 6, 2008, 3:28PM

Lifting the veil on one of the two remaining Justice Department OIG reports, Murray Waas for the Huffington Post reports that Hans von Spakovsky, among other former Justice Department lawyers, has been subpoenaed by the OIG to testify about politicization of the Civil Rights Division.

Investigators for the Inspector General have also asked whether [Brad] Schlozman, while an interim U.S. attorney in Missouri, brought certain actions and even a voting fraud indictment for political ends, according to witnesses questioned by the investigators. But it is unclear whether the grand jury is going to hear testimony on that issue as well.

One person who has been subpoenaed before the grand jury, sources said, was Hans von Spakovsky, who as a former counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights was a top aide to Schlozman.

As Waas points out in the article, the DOJ forcing former members of its own ranks to testify is an "extraordinary step."

Both Schlozman and Spakovsky are being investigated for violating civil service laws in making hiring decisions based on political affiliation.

Jason Torchinsky is also reported to have been subpoenaed, though sources tell Waas that Torchinsky is not under investigation and has been only asked for witness testimony.

Two previous reports by the OIG have both found that hirings were politicized at various points at the Justice Department. The first report showed the politicization of the Attorney General's Honors Program, while the second, released last week, focused on the politicized hiring surrounding Monica Goodling and others at the DOJ.