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Report confirms political hiring at DoJ
Submitted by Newsbyte on Wed, 06/25/2008 - 10:52.
Officials at the US Department of Justice illegally favoured conservative candidates when they made hiring decisions for the department’s top recruitment programme, according to a report by the DoJ’s inspector general. The findings marked the first time that allegations of illegal hiring and firing practices, cited for some time by former DoJ officials and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill, were confirmed by an independent report. The review cited numerous instances in which qualified candidates were passed over for jobs because they were perceived as politically liberal. The department’s inspector general is still reviewing allegations that the DoJ fired nine US attorneys for political reasons, a controversy that led to the resignation of Alberto Gonzales, former US attorney-general. While it is legal to consider political views in some DoJ appointments, it is illegal to discriminate based on ideological affiliations for so-called “career” appointments, such as the DoJ’s honours programme and its summer internships. According to the report, data showed that candidates for 2002 recruitment programmes with Democratic and liberal affiliations were left out of consideration at a “significantly higher” rate than candidates with Republican, conservative or neutral affiliations. The inspector general also accused two former DoJ officials, Esther Slater McDonald and Michael Elston, of violating federal law and DoJ policy by taking political or ideological affiliations into account when making hiring decisions in 2006. In one case cited in the report, Ms McDonald indicated she had concerns about a candidate who was a Harvard graduate because the individual, who was fluent in Arabic, was a member of the Council on American Islamic Relations. According to Daniel Fridman, who reviewed applications with Ms McDonald, she also expressed concerns about candidates who she perceived as liberal, were members of organisations such as the American Constitution Society, or worked for liberal members of Congress. Ms McDonald refused to be interviewed by the DoJ’s inspector general, and did not return a call for comment at Seyfarth Shaw, a law firm where she is now an associate, according to the firm’s website. In an interview with the inspector general, Mr Elston denied making hiring choices on political grounds, but acknowledged the playing field was “not as level” as it should have been. What is the role of the Department of Justice? =================================================================================================== Source: |
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