The email exchanges solidify what reports on the U.S. attorney firing scandal suggested: that the politicization at the agency was part of a coordinated effort to disenfranchise voters, at the expense of Democratic candidates.

In one exchange, Schlozman wants to get rid of a “liberal” voting rights attorney, by, presumably, banishing him on a tedious assignment:

In an e-mail dated November 28, 2003, to front office Counsel von Spakovsky and Principal [Deputy Assistant Attorney General] Bradshaw, Schlozman wrote about a particular Voting Section attorney, “If I recall correctly, [Voting Section attorney] is a crazy lib hans, am I right?” and “a detail would be a great way to get him out of our hair for 6 months.”

Later, Schlozman goes further, ensuring that politics are taken into account when selecting who will represent the government in a voting rights case before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals:

In an e-mail from Schlozman to Flynn dated December 4, 2003, Schlozman wrote, “Please let me know when you decide who is going to argue this 4th Circuit voting appeal. If [specific Appellate attorney] is going to do it, that’s fine. If it’s the other atty on the case, I will have either Hans [von Spakovsky] (or possibly myself) do it instead. The potential stakes are too great to entrust this to either a lib or an idiot.”

This report is probably the meatiest we’ve seen yet from the Justice Department inspector general’s office. It offers a startling glimpse of what was happening at our most important federal agency over the last eight years. With Eric Holder, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick for attorney general, heading to the Hill Thursday for a confirmation hearing, it’s a good time to start watching what direction the department will take. We’ll have more on the report shortly.

From the report:

The evidence in our investigation showed that Schlozman, first as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General and subsequently as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General, considered political and ideological affiliations in hiring career attorneys and in other personnel actions affecting career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division. In doing so, he violated federal law – the Civil Service Reform Act – and Department policy that prohibit discrimination in federal employment based on political and ideological affiliations, and committed misconduct. The evidence also showed that Division managers failed to exercise sufficient oversight to ensure that Schlozman did not engage in inappropriate hiring and personnel practices. Moreover, Schlozman made false statements about whether he considered political and ideological affiliations when he gave sworn testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee and in his written responses to supplemental questions from the Committee.

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.

Schlozman worked as the head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, later replacing fired U.S. attorney Todd Graves in Kansas City, before finishing his work in the federal system at the agency’s headquarters. Schlozman’s claim to fame was his frequent invocation of replacing Clinton appointees with “good Americans.”

It appears that that Schlozman’s machinations to fill Justice with Bushies went far beyond classifications of “good Americans.” We’ll have more Schlozman-isms as the day progresses and we work through the report (PDF).