Today's report from the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility:
"In sum, our report found that (Brad) Schlozman considered political and ideological affiliations when hiring and taking other personnel actions relating to career attorneys, in violation of Department policy and federal law, and his actions also constitute misconduct.
We also believe he made false statements to Congress about his actions. Schlozman is no longer employed by the Department and, therefore, is not subject to disciplinary action by the Department. We recommend, however, that, if criminal prosecution is declined these findings be considered if Schlozman seeks federal employment in the future. We believe that his violations of the merit system principles set forth in the Civil Service Reform Act, federal regulations, and Department policy, and his subsequent false statements to Congress render him unsuitable for federal service. We have referred this matter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for a decision on whether the evidence warrants acriminal prosecution. We provided to the prosecutor the evidence we gathered in the course of our investigation, including transcripts of interviews and relevant documents and e-mails."
Political corruption
Bang another nail into the coffin of political corruption of the Bush/Cheney administration. Lying to Congress, lying to the internal Justice department's investigation into the illegal hiring practices based on political ideologies, this has all the hallmarks of Rove and Cheney. Think Schlozman did this all on his own because he thought it was the right thing to do? Don't even think Gonzales was the man on this. He's a weak little patsy, and Cheney/Rove could always push him into doing what they wanted.