No Inquiry For Bush Justice Dept. Official

Justice Department prosecutors will not reopen a perjury investigation of a Bush administration civil rights lawyer whose testimony had been challenged by Senate Democrats, officials said Friday.

Bradley A. Schlozman, a former civil rights official and an acting U.S. attorney during the Bush years, had come under fire for alleged discrepancies in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee two years ago. Senior Democrats on the panel had accused Schlozman of engaging in improper, politically motivated hiring practices and of violating protocol by bringing a voter-registration case against a liberal group days before a local election.

Federal prosecutors in the District reviewed the evidence and earlier this year declined to bring a case against Schlozman, a decision that had been criticized by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), among others.

In confirmation hearings, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. promised lawmakers that he would reevaluate the case. The new attorney general remains "disturbed and dismayed" by Schlozman's hiring strategies but has concluded that "the decision to decline prosecution of Mr. Schlozman should not be disturbed," according to a letter sent to Congress on Friday by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich.

"To be clear, nothing in the Attorney General's determination to sustain the U.S. Attorney's decision should be construed as an endorsement of Mr. Schlozman's improper hiring and personnel-related practices," the letter said.

William H. Jordan, an attorney for Schlozman, said that "Brad is extremely pleased" about the conclusion of the lengthy probe.

"The Attorney General made the right decision and did not overturn the considered judgment of six senior career officials who reviewed the matter . . . and declined to prosecute," Jordan said in a prepared statement.

In January, the Justice Department's inspector general and office of professional responsibility reported that Schlozman had labeled some job candidates "commies," vowed to hire "right-thinking Americans" and transferred a lawyer for allegedly writing in "ebonics."

The Obama administration has placed new emphasis on bringing ambitious civil rights cases focused on employment and housing discrimination against minorities, but calming the waters in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has been a challenge. Earlier this week, ethics watchdogs opened an inquiry into the dismissal of a civil complaint against the New Black Panther Party after Republicans on Capitol Hill alleged that new department leaders had rejected the advice of career lawyers and walked away from the investigation.