As mentioned below, another case we’re looking at very closely in the turnover in US Attorney’s in the Western District of Missouri. That’s where former US Attorney Todd Graves resigned his office in March of last year to be replaced by Brad Schlozman. We’ll be bringing you more on Schlozman presently at TPMmuckraker. But before becoming US Attorney he headed up the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division — where he focused on purging the Division of non-conservatives and generally emasculating voting rights enforcement around the country.
We’ve been looking closely at the circumstances of Graves’ departure. But another reporter on top of this story is Dave Helling of the Kansas City Star. Unfortunately the KC Star’s “Buzz” blog is subscription only. (You can at least get a free two week trial. So if you want to follow the situation in this district, I’d suggest signing up.) But in a post that Helling ran yesterday he notes a very suggestive timeline …
1) Oct. 25, 2005: Schlozman writes Missouri, authorizing lawsuit for failure to maintain voter lists; lawsuit filed later in 2005
2) Jan. 9, 2006: Kyle Sampson writes a memo, listing at least seven U.S. attorneys to be replaced; three of those names are redacted.
3) March 10, 2006: Todd Graves announces departure from U.S. attorney office
4) March 23, 2006: Schlozman announced as replacement as interim U.S. attorney; first U.S. attorney appointed under broadened Patriot Act that exempts him from Senate confirmation
5) October 2006: Schlozman prosecutes four workers for ACORN for allegedly filing false voter registration forms; apparently it’s the only known federal case against ACORN in the nation. (At a news conference, Schlozman denies any political motive for the prosecutions.)
The suit to force more aggressive voter purges in Missouri is a story in itself — and the DOJ pushed this in several other key swing states. There’s a lot more smoke here. So stay tuned.
