Schlozman ‘Clarifies’ Sworn Testimony Over Election-Timed Voter Fraud Case

During his sworn Senate testimony last week, former Missouri U.S. Attorney Bradley Schlozman repeatedly asserted that he had been “directed” by Craig Donsanto, the head of the Justice Department’s Election Crimes section, to file controversial voter fraud indictments against a week before the 2006 election.

Pressed by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Schlozman testified that if questioned, Donsanto, who literally wrote the Department’s manual on how to approach election crimes, “would state explicitly and without reservation that he did in fact OK the issuing of the indictments.” But multiple former Justice Department officials have now come foward saying that it is highly unlikely Donsanto would have signed off on the indictments “of his own volition.”

Today, Schlozman sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) revising his sworn statements to Congress:

I wanted to take the opportunity to clarify my testimony with regard to the timing of the voter registration fraud indictments against four employees of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (“ACORN”). Although I later clarified my testimony in responding to Senator Whitehouse’s questioning at the hearing, I did state in response to various questions during my testimony that the long-time career head of the Public Integrity Section’s Election Crimes Branch had “directed” me to file the indictments prior to the November 2006 election.

As required by Section 9-85.210 of the U.S. Attorney’s Manual, at my direction, the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the case consulted with the Election Crimes Branch prior to the filing of the indictments. I want to be clear that, while I relied on the consultation with, and suggestions of, the Election 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 interim U.S. Attorney.

In a statement released today, Leahy responded to the letter: “It is deeply troubling that after weeks of preparation Mr. Schlozman appears to have misled the Committee and the public about his decision to file an election eve lawsuit in direct conflict with longstanding Justice Department policy.”

“This Justice Department and this Administration already suffer from a severe credibility crisis, and learning that yet another senior official was less than forthcoming during his testimony before Congress does little to restore any of the lost trust or eroding confidence in their leadership,” Leahy said.

Read the full letter HERE.

Read Leahy’s full statement below:

“It is deeply troubling that after weeks of preparation Mr. Schlozman appears to have misled the Committee and the public about his decision to file an election eve lawsuit in direct conflict with longstanding Justice Department policy. I asked him repeatedly about this case at the hearing because of concerns that it was done to use law enforcement power improperly to affect the outcome of the election, which is the reason the Department instituted the policy as a safeguard against such manipulation.

“This Justice Department and this Administration already suffer from a severe credibility crisis, and learning that yet another senior official was less than forthcoming during his testimony before Congress does little to restore any of the lost trust or eroding confidence in their leadership. It is difficult to get to the facts when Administration officials fail to come clean, but the Committee will continue to pursue the truth behind this matter.”