WASHINGTON — Justice Department investigators said Wednesday they were probing whether the agency's civil rights division engaged in improper hiring and personnel decisions -- expanding an investigation that arose from the firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys.
The internal review also will look into hiring for the agency's prestigious honors program for entry-level attorneys and for summer internships, according to a letter to the House and Senate judiciary committees from Inspector General Glenn A. Fine and H. Marshall Jarrett, head of the Office of Professional Responsibility.
Last week, a former top aide to Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, Monica M. Goodling, testified before a House committee that she had "crossed the line" by considering the party affiliations of people applying for nonpolitical jobs at the Justice Department. Goodling acknowledged that 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 decisions 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 this year, and testified under a grant of immunity from prosecution.
The expanded investigation also appears to reflect concerns among a growing number of career employees at the Justice Department who have suggested that politics have compromised the hiring process at the department during the Bush administration.
In a letter this spring to the judiciary panels, an anonymous group of Justice employees wrote that they thought department political appointees were using politics to screen candidates for the honors and internship programs.
"Most of those struck from the list had interned for a 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 in the April 7 letter.
After meeting with some of those concerned staffers, the Justice Department issued new guidelines for the honors and summer programs, removing high-level political appointees from the selection process. The department said the moves were taken "to avoid even the perception of any political influence in the process."
