Grand Jury To Prepares To Probe Firing Of U.S. Attorneys
By: Tommy Elder, Jr.
To determine whether the firings of several United States Attorneys came about for political motives- the United States Justice Department launched a probe. Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times reports that attorneys from the United States Department of Justice employed a grand jury to examine these attorneys` dismissals. The jurors will study comments made by Justice Department representatives on employment hirings for the Civil Rights Division.
Looking at various new employees- the examiners will seek out the facts and determine if- `The issue was lying, (or) whether the people caught up (in) this (incident) told the truth or not.` The Wall Street Journal reported that the grand jury issued a referral to examine potential perjury by Bradley J. Schlozman, a former acting head of the Civil Rights Division.
Once Mr. Schlozman served as interim United States Attorney in Kansas City, Missouri. Purportedly, he left that job involuntarily over political differences with Washington. Allegedly, he stated during his tenure as United States Attorney in Kansas City, that a Justice Department supervisor told him to start an indictment in a vote cheating case against a liberal organization. The probe examined Mr. Schlozman`s Senate Testimony.
Currently, the Inspector General`s Office and the Office of Professional Responsibility started investigations of the firings and related allegations of politicization in hiring. The inspector general could send criminal complaints to prosecutors for possible indictment or charges followi ng the conclusion of his inquiry. This probe prompted the resignation of Alberto R. Gonzales. Mr. Gonzales` current attorney George T. Terwilliger III said the grand jury referral was `unrelated to anything connected to Judge Gonzales.
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