Justice Department: Former aide broke law in hiring scandal

A report that former Justice Department officials illegally influenced the hiring of career employees and lied to investigators drew quick congressional condemnation Monday, with a top House Democrat announcing he may request prosecution of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others.

The report by the agency's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility indicates Gonzales and former Justice Department officials Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson "may have lied to Congress," House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said. "I have directed my staff to closely review this matter and to consider whether a criminal referral for perjury is needed."

It was not immediately clear what testimony Conyers referred to. The report does not accuse the department officials of lying to Congress, and it says Gonzales was largely unaware of illegal hiring practices.

But a Judiciary Committee spokesman said the committee's lawyers are reviewing the report and past testimony for discrepancies. The IG's report found that Goodling, who held several department jobs, and, in some cases, Sampson, former chief of staff to Gonzales, broke civil service hiring laws by screening potential prosecutors, administrative judges, senior executive service members and others based on political affiliation. Goodling rejected an experienced terrorism prosecutor for a job because his wife was active in the local Democratic Party, the report says, forcing selection of an underqualified candidate.

The report says Goodling, Sampson and two other officials gave various parties false information about political hiring at the department. It also concludes that Goodling discriminated against a career department attorney based on rumors she was a lesbian. While politicization of Justice Department hiring has been widely reported, the report offers new details on the extent and consequences of the practice. Justice investigators concluded the most systematic screening based on political affiliations occurred in selection of immigration judgeships, which are civil service jobs.

Sampson created a process that caused most judge candidates to be selected by the White House. Republican members of Congress also suggested judges. The political vetting caused delays that left the department "unable to timely fill the large number of vacant [immigration judges] positions," the report says.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Monday that "it is neither permissible nor acceptable to consider political affiliations" in the hiring of career employees. "I have acted, and will continue to act, to ensure that my words are translated into reality," Mukasey added, noting Justice has already implemented fixes to problems cited in the report. But Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., faulted Mukasey for past efforts to dismiss the issue as the work "of a few bad apples." Leahy said the findings show the practices had "at least tacit approval of senior department officials" and shows a wider White House role in politicizing nonpartisan federal jobs. Noting Republicans have called the House Judiciary Committee probe of Justice Department politicization "a fishing expedition that caught no fish," Judiciary Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., claimed vindication. "This report ... adds to a growing public record that this administration has tainted our system of justice," she said.

The report's findings may cause legal problems for the former department officials named. Although Goodling received a grant of immunity for testimony last year and the hiring laws Sampson and Goodling allegedly broke were civil statutes, the report's findings that Sampson, Goodling and others gave false information to investigators could cause referral to federal prosecutors for perjury. The report does not mention any referral to prosecutors.