It’s shameful that it’s taken me this long to get to this story today, but better late than never… right? At any rate, LA Times writer Tom Hamburger (formerly of the Star Tribune) ran a tremendous piece today that appeared reprinted on the 6th page of the Strib. In short, the piece documents how at least part of the reason that former U.S. Attorney (and loyal Republican) Tom Heffelfinger was on the list of possible firings
First, if you don’t know who Tom Heffelfinger is he was the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota under George H.W. Bush and under George W. Bush from 2001-2006 (all quotes from LA Times, 5/31/07):
So it came as a surprise — and something of a mystery — when he turned up on the list of U.S. attorneys who had been targeted for dismissal.
Part of the reason, government documents and other evidence suggest, is that he tried to protect Indians’ voting rights.
Why would that be the case? Don’t we want people to vote; especially here in Minnesota? Enter the Rovian mindset:
Republican Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer directed that tribal ID cards could not be used for voter identification by Native Americans living off reservations. Heffelfinger and his staff feared that the ruling could result in discrimination against Indian voters. Many do not have driver’s licenses or forms of identification other than the tribes’ photo IDs
Why would Kiffmeyer care to embark on this crusade?
The issue was politically sensitive because
the Indian vote can be pivotal in close elections in Minnesota . The Minneapolis-St. Paul area has one of the largest urban Native American populations in the United States. Its members turn out in relatively large numbers and are predominantly Democratic.
…
The GOP blamed what it said was fraud on Indian reservations for the narrow victory of South Dakota Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson over Republican John Thune in 2002.
Okay, Kiffmeyer is a jerk, villain of the year even, but how does the Department of Justice fit into this thing. Well, the first clue came from Goodling:
Goodling said she had heard Heffelfinger criticized for “spending an excessive amount of time” on Indian issues.
Odd… but the rabbit hole goes deeper:
But newly obtained documents and interviews suggest that what displeased some of his superiors and GOP politicians was narrower and more politically charged — his actions on Indian voting.
Three months after Heffelfinger’s office raised the concern over voting rights, his name was on the list. The gap between local and federal was bridged by Assistant U.S. Attorney in Minnesota, Rob Lewis, when he sent an e-mail to Justice Department officials:
Lewis wrote that Kiffmeyer’s memo had sparked “concerns regarding possible disparate impact among the state’s substantial Indian population.” Disparate impact is a term used in civil-rights litigation to describe a circumstantial case of discrimination.
The official contacted, Joseph Rich, head of the voting section at the time, recommended that an investigation be conducted. And then it gets weird (as if it isn’t already):
Rich responded by suggesting that more information be gathered from voting officials in the Twin Cities area, which includes Minnesota’s two most populous counties.
A message came back from another Republican official in the department, Hans Von Spakovsky, saying Rich should deal only with Kiffmeyer’s office.
Hmm…
The orders from Schlozman and Von Spakovsky, who wielded unusual power in the civil-rights division, effectively ended any department inquiry, Rich said.
In summary, Kiffmeyer seeks to suppress native-american turn-out, Heffelfinger says “whoa there, that’s not cool,” Kiffmeyer fires back “hey man, I’m doin’ my job, they’re fraudin’,” Heffelfinger’s sidekick Lewis tattles to the DoJ, DoJ official Rich says “hey, this does look bogus,” GOP DoJ dude says “umm, ask Kiffmeyer first,” and that closed the vicious cycle.
People are Shouting