Follow up to postings on U.S. attorney firings, today’s release of a report by the DOJ OIG, An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General, July 28, 2008 (124 pages, PDF)

• “This investigation examined allegations that Monica Goodling, who worked in the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) as the Department’s White House Liaison, inappropriately considered political and ideological affiliations in the selection and hiring of certain Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSA) and career attorneys in the Department, and in approving details of career attorneys to Department offices. We also investigated allegations that former Chief of Staff to the Attorney General Kyle Sampson, Goodling, and Goodling’s predecessor as the Department’s White House Liaison, Jan Williams, inappropriately considered political and ideological affiliations in selecting immigration judges (IJs) and members of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), all of which are career positions.”
• “In sum, the evidence showed that Sampson, Williams, and Goodling violated federal law and Department policy, and Sampson and Goodling committed misconduct, by considering political and ideological affiliations in soliciting and selecting IJs, which are career positions protected by the civil service laws.”