The Plot Thickens . . .

New York Times
May 3, 2007

Justice Dept. Announces Inquiry Into Its Hiring
By ERIC LIPTON and DAVID JOHNSTON

WASHINGTON, May 2 — The Justice Department has begun an internal investigation into whether a former senior adviser to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales improperly tried to fill vacancies for career prosecutors at the agency with Republicans loyal to the Bush administration, department officials said Wednesday.

The inquiry focuses on whether Monica Goodling, formerly a top aide to Mr. Gonzales, sought to determine the political affiliations of job applicants before they were hired as prosecutors — potentially a violation of civil service laws and a break with a tradition of nonpartisanship in the career ranks at the Justice Department.

The inquiry by the department’s inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility was announced on a day in which the House and Senate Judiciary Committees advanced their broader investigations of issues related to last year’s dismissals of eight United States attorneys.

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