Legal Research

Report Under Gonzalez, Justice Department Hiring Guided by Politics

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime and Justice News, July 29, 2008.

"Senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales broke Civil Service laws by using politics to guide their hiring decisions, picking less-qualified applicants for important nonpolitical positions, slowing the hiring process at critical times and damaging the department's credibility, an internal report concluded on Monday. A longtime prosecutor who drew rave reviews from his supervisors was passed over for an important counterterrorism slot because his wife was active in Democratic politics, and a much-less- experienced lawyer with Republican leanings got the job, the report said, according to the New York Times. "

"Another prosecutor was rejected for a job in part because she was thought to be a lesbian. And a Republican lawyer received high marks at his job interview because he was found to be sufficiently conservative on the core issues of 'god, guns + gays.' The report, prepared by the Justice Department's inspector general and its internal ethics office, centered on the misconduct of a small circle of aides to Gonzales, including Monica Goodling, a former top adviser to the attorney general, and Kyle Sampson, his former chief of staff. It also found that White House officials were actively involved in some hiring decisions. Last month, the inspector genera and the Office of Professional Responsibility released a separate report that found a similar pattern of politicized hiring at the Justice Department in reviewing applications from young lawyers for the honors and intern programs."

New York Times

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on July 29, 2008 (boomark / email).