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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Von Spakovsky Grilled on Role at Justice

The politicization of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has seeped into the confirmation of FEC Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky. Yesterday's hearing proved to be divisive. Von Spakovsky's questioning focused on his former position as a lawyer in the Voting Rights Section of DOJ's Civil Rights Division from 2001 through 2005. Particularly Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Richard Durbin's (D-IL) questioning suggested that his work at the DOJ disqualifies him from serving a full term at the FEC. There is a particular concern with Von Spakovsky's track record of suppressing minority votes and favoring Republicans. While at the DOJ, von Spakovsky wrote an article under the pseudonym "Publius" for a Texas law journal in 2005 that supported voter ID laws. He also "could not recall" important details, such as whether or not he saw an analysis of the Georgia voter ID law and its effects on minorities.

From McClatchy Newspapers: "Time and again during his confirmation hearing, he cited either the attorney-client privilege or a cloudy memory for his purported role in restricting minorities' voting rights. Von Spakovsky couldn't remember blocking an investigation into complaints that a Minnesota Republican official was discriminating against Native American voters before the 2004 election."

Also at the center of attention was a letter that a group of former voting rights attorneys in the Division sent to the committee calling for the rejection of his nomination. Feinstein said the concerns expressed in the letter made it "really problematic for this committee to vote" to recommend von Spakovsky's confirmation by the Senate. Von Spakovsky commented that he was not "the decision-maker" on the matters raised in the letter, though he agreed with them. A committee vote on the FEC nominees will not take place for at least a week. TPMMuckraker.com finds it "amazing what happens when a former Justice Department official sits behind a microphone."