Washington – Justice Department investigators said Wednesday they were looking at whether the agency’s Civil Rights Division engaged in improper hiring and personnel decisions, expanding a probe that arose from the firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys.
The internal review also will look at hiring for the prestigious honors program for entry-level attorneys and for summer internships, according to a letter to the House and Senate judiciary committees.
Last week a former top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Monica Goodling, testified before a House committee that she “crossed the line” by considering the party affiliations of people applying for nonpolitical jobs at the Justice Department.
Goodling admitted she included political factors, including campaign contributions, in screening for such career positions as immigration judges and assistant U.S. attorneys.
Injecting party politics into federal hiring is a possible violation of federal civil service laws and can lead to the suspension or firing of those involved. Goodling resigned from the Justice Department and testified under a grant of immunity from prosecution.
The expanded probe also appears to reflect concerns among a growing number of career Justice employees who have suggested that politics has compromised the department’s hiring process during the Bush administration.
In a letter this spring to the judiciary panels, an anonymous group of Justice employees wrote that they thought political appointees used politics to screen candidates for the honors and internship programs.
“Most of those struck from the list had interned for a (Capitol) Hill Democrat, clerked for a Democratic judge, worked for a ‘liberal’ cause or otherwise appeared to have ‘liberal’ leanings,” the “Group of Concerned Department of Justice employees” wrote.
After meeting with workers, the department issued new guidelines for the honors and summer programs, removing high-level political appointees from the selection process.
