Politicized Hiring And Improper Personnel Actions In The Civil Rights Division

A July 2, 2008 report by the U.S. Department of Justice's Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility was released publicly today. The report concluded that throughout his tenure in the Department's Civil Rights Division Brad Schlozman improperly considered political and ideological affiliations in selecting attorneys for the Department's Honors Program and summer law intern program.

Of particular interest is the report's finding that Schlozman transferred a lawyer identified as "Attorney A" out of the division's appellate section. As set out in the report (page 37, note 30), Attorney A (apparently an African American) graduated magna cum laude from a top law school, worked as an attorney advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel, clerked for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and assumed a career position in the Civil Rights Division. Her work in the appellate section received positive performance evaluations, including the observation that she had "strong analytical and writing skills," and she was commended for "an excellent job . . . in one of the most important Establishment Clause cases decided by the Supreme Court in recent years . . ." According to the report, Schlozman stated that Attorney A was "a Democrat in hiding and is not going to hide in my Appellate Division" and told a colleague that Attorney A "wrote in Ebonics," "was an idiot," and "was an affirmative action thing."

The report also refers to an August 2004 incident in which an e-mail to Schlozman from Voting Section Chief John Tanner asked Schlozman to bring coffee to a meeting. When Schlozman's reply asked how Tanner liked his coffee, Tanner responded," Mary Frances Berry style--black and bitter." (At that time Berry, an African American, was the chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.) Schlozman forwarded the e-mail to several DOJ officials with the message "Y'all will appreciate Tanner's response."

These people worked in the Civil Rights Division. The Civil Rights Division!!