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| 5/24 |
| 2008/7/29-8/3 [Politics/Domestic/Abortion, Politics/Domestic/Immigration] UID:50719 Activity:nil |
7/29 Monica Goodling and Alberto Gonzalez routinely broke the law
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072801007.html
\_ "young political aide" ... "Goodling, 34". Wow, 34 is young. I feel
better now.
\_ 30 is the new 20.
\_ They were following a higher law. God Bless!
\_ Goodling was already granted immunity in return for her
testimony and Gonzalez will be pardoned. Is it really "breaking
the law" if you believe you are above the law and have the
power to get away with it?
\_ Of course it is. Whether you get punished for it is something
else. |
| 5/24 |
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| www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/28/AR2008072801007.html A new Justice Department report concludes that politics illegally influenced the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges, and largely lays the blame on top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. A new Justice Department report concludes that politics illegally influenced the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges, and largely lays the blame on top aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Monica M Goodling, exercised what amounted to veto power over a wide range of critical jobs, asking candidates for their views on abortion and same-sex marriage and maneuvering around senior officials who outranked her, including the department's second-in-command. An extensive report by the department's Office of the Inspector General and Office of Professional Responsibility concluded yesterday that Goodling and others had broken civil service laws, run afoul of department policy and engaged in "misconduct," a finding that could expose them to further scrutiny and sanctions. The report depicted Goodling as a central figure in politicizing employment decisions at Justice during the Bush administration. Goodling declined to cooperate with investigators, who instead interviewed 85 witnesses and scoured documents and computer hard drives to prepare their report. White House liaison and counselor to the attorney general. One source said staff members called her "she who must be obeyed." Thirty-four candidates told investigators that Goodling or one of her deputies raised the topic of abortion in job interviews and 21 said they discussed same-sex marriage, the report said. Condoleezza Rice, only to watch Goodling "frown" and respond, "But she's pro-choice." She and her aides regularly gave candidates for career civil service jobs a form designed for political appointees that sought information on party affiliation and financial contributions. When job seekers sometimes raised objections, Goodling replied that the form was a mistake, showing that she was "aware that it was improper," the report said. John M Dowd, an attorney for Goodling, said yesterday that she deserved praise, not scorn, for her "exceptional candor" with Congress last year. "Each and every one of the core conclusions of the OIG/OPR report . is consistent with and indeed derived from Ms Goodling's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee," he said. Attorneys for the former Justice Department officials scoffed at the idea, and independent lawyers following the case said it is likely that officials who had left the department will face only ethics inquiries in connection with breaking civil service laws. Current and former department lawyers said they were appalled by the deep reach of the political hiring, which affected hundreds of rejected job seekers and as many as 40 immigration judges who were recruited under the political criteria. Those judges may remain on the bench because their career civil service jobs carry significant employment protections. |