An inspector general’s report concludes that Justice Department officials broke the law by placing politics foremost in Justice Department hiring decisions. (NY Times here.) The lead lawbreaker, Monica Goodling, was hip-deep in U.S. attorneygate, which included the ouster of Bud Cummins as U.S. attorney in LR to make room for the politically preferred Tim Griffin.

Impeachment is too good for this crowd. Slammer time would be better. You gotta love the job interview questions for Justice Department jobs. Among them, according to the article in the first link, fromTalking Points Memo:

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Tell us about your political philosophy. There are different groups of conservatives, by way of example: Social Conservative, Fiscal Conservative, Law & Order Republican.

[W]hat is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?

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Aside from the President, give us an example of someone currently or recently in public service who you admire.

Why are you a Republican?

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As the Times summarized:

The new report released Monday goes much further, however, in documenting pervasive evidence of political hiring for some of the department’s most senior career, apolitical positions, including immigration judges and assistant United States attorneys.

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The inspector general’s investigation found that Ms. Goodling and a handful of other senior aides to Mr. Gonzales developed a system of using in-person interviews and Internet searches to screen out candidates who might be too liberal and to identify candidates seen as pro-Republican and supportive of President Bush.

 

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