Anti-liberal bias found in Justice programs

[Prosperity]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/24/justice.investigation/

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice Department officials blocked liberals and people with Democratic Party ties from a highly selective program that funneled young lawyers into government jobs, according to an internal investigation released Tuesday.

A bias against liberals existed in a Justice program meant to hire young lawyers, an investigation found.

A bias against liberals existed in a Justice program meant to hire young lawyers, an investigation found.

Esther Slater McDonald, a political appointee at the Justice Department, "wrote disparaging statements about the candidates' liberal and Democratic Party affiliations on the applications she reviewed and ... she voted to deselect candidates on that basis," said the report by Inspector General Glenn Fine. McDonald, who has left the department, refused to be interviewed for the investigation.

The report, the first official investigation to document politicization of the Justice Department during the Bush administration, is an offshoot of the larger investigation of Justice Department politics triggered by the furor over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys.

It found two of three members of a screening committee considered political views and experience when choosing new lawyers for the Justice Department Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program.

The report found that McDonald and Michael Elston, the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, engaged in misconduct, an administrative violation. The third member of the screening committee, career lawyer Dan Fridman, was cleared of any involvement in the politicization of the process.

Elston was interviewed by the investigators, who asked him about the role of former Justice Department official Monica Goodling in politicizing the selection process.

Don't Miss

* House panel subpoenas Karl Rove in U.S. attorneys case

Elston told investigators he could not recall Goodling telling him to select lawyers who appeared to share Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' philosophy. Goodling testified before a House panel last year that she had told Elston he should identify such candidates.

Goodling directed Elston to lead the selection committee in 2006. She and Elston have both left the Justice Department. She refused to be interviewed for the inspector general's report.

As a result of the controversy, the hiring process was changed in 2007 to insulate hiring decisions from political considerations.

Both Justice Department policy and federal law prohibit discrimination in hiring for career positions on the basis of political affiliations.

The report did not find clear evidence that an earlier screening committee took political considerations into account. It says data from 2002 shows a disparity in the hiring of liberal and conservative candidates, but there were no complaints about the committee's work from 2003 to 2006, when Goodling put Elston in charge of the process.

The report Tuesday is the first of perhaps several to be issued as the broad-ranging investigation into the role partisan politics has played in the Justice Department during the Bush administration.

Goodling is expected to be a central figure in later inspector general reports examining efforts to increase the influence of conservatives in the department.

The Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility, a separate watchdog office that monitors prosecutorial conduct, joined in the inspector general's investigation.

[Cskin]

Just trying to create balance with the Blame America, Anything Goes, every criminal has a good reason, bleeding heart liberal judges all over the country. Oh.. and the indoctrination centers called COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES. Oh.. and the PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.

[Larry]

Just trying to create balance with the Blame America, Anything Goes, every criminal has a good reason, bleeding heart liberal judges all over the country. Oh.. and the indoctrination centers called COLLEGES and UNIVERSITIES. Oh.. and the PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM.

You forgot to mention THE LIBERAL MEDIA. Oh, and the ACLU and NAMBLA.

And wipe that spittle off your keyboard, it'll ruin it.

[MissU28]

good

[Larry]

FWIW, this was discussed on here a year or two ago.

And back then all the little Bushies had no problem with it. Their primary "argument" was that the Justice Department was part of the Executive Branch, and the President is of course entitled to demand that all Executive Branch employees must be loyal members of his political Party.

Edit: Here's the link to the previous thread. (It lists in the compact format, for some reason, but that's what Google found.)

It starts out by pointing out that the Bush DoJ civil rights division has chosen to only investigate and prosecute alleged discrimination cases against whites and/or Christians.

Later, it points out that one of Ashcroft's first actions as AG was to change the hiring rules for civil service lawyers. Previously, these positions were filled by a committee of career civil servants. (To make the hiring apolitical.) Ashcroft changed the rules so that those positions are now selected by a committee of political appointees.

(It also mentions some interesting, IMO facts about Regent University (founded by Pat Robertson.) Over 150 alumni of this school have served in some capacity in the Bush administration. Their web site says that one graduate out of six works for the government. Including the woman who was in charge of this hiring committee.)

[Larry]

Hmmm.

We can get about 100 posts for "Best James Bond movie".

But the Justice Department being re-made into a group of political operatives?

That's a big "no comment" there, good buddy.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

Where are all of my conservative friends?

[techboy]

This President's a lame duck.

It will be far more interesting to see what the next President does about it.

Would anyone be surprised to see liberals suddenly supporting this policy if Obama continues it, under the umbrella of "Bush started it"?

Yeah, I'm cynical about politics. It must have been all those years of listening to CSPAN radio.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Fine with me.

[Destino]

You know why no one cares? Because no one is surprised. The GOP during Bush's term has been a national disgrace. Between this and what DeLay was doing in K street it's clear that republicans couldn't handle being in power.

[Hooper]

This administration just took partisanship to a new level. Time and time again, they chose 100 percent loyalty to Dubya instead of competence. And the administration and country suffered for it. No matter what political side of the aisle you're on, you should want qualified people in place. Heck, one of the biggest reasons things turned out so badly in Iraq is because so many incredibly underqualified people were given key jobs. If Bush and company had valued competence as much as party, Dubya's approval rating and legacy might be a lot different.

[Vicious]

This is why the second amendment exists. To kill those that would go against the Constitution.

[Bang]

You know why no one cares? Because no one is surprised.

Exactly, and who wants to waste an entire day arguing over it with walls of stone?

~Bang

[techboy]

This is why the second amendment exists. To kill those that would go against the Constitution.

When the Secret Service shows up at your door for a little chat, please leave the rest of us out of it, okay? Thanks.

[SkinsHokieFan]

You know why no one cares? Because no one is surprised. .

Sadly yes. This is just another long line in the last 8 years of trying to unravel oh everything

Its just embarrasing some of these things, there isn't even a point in commenting

[Vicious]

When the Secret Service shows up at your door for a little chat, please leave the rest of us out of it, okay? Thanks.

I'm willing to die for my rights. Are you?

[Larry]

This is why the second amendment exists. To kill those that would go against the Constitution.

I'm willing to die for my rights. Are you?

Judging from your first quote, you don't even know what your rights are.

[Hooper]

Lighten up, Francis.

[Vicious]

I realize that there are those in this country that would gladly replace the Constitution with the Bible.

edit: can't exactly make statements like that without giving reasoning. For instance, Liberty College founded by Jerry Falwell. It purposefully injects people into the government like stated in the topic of this thread to attempt to influence it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_University

[Vicious]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Gonzales

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY5BwMjpUOI

Often cited as an example, Gonzales as White House Counsel signed a controversial January 2002 memorandum to the President in which it was argued that the Geneva Convention proscriptions on torture did not apply to Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners, and that the conventions' limitations on the questioning of prisoners were, in fact, "obsolete" when dealing with terrorism.[65][66]

That would be the highest ranking lawyer in the nation.

[mjah]

Hmmm.

We can get about 100 posts for "Best James Bond movie".

But the Justice Department being re-made into a group of political operatives?

That's a big "no comment" there, good buddy.

I think people can't really even grasp the magnitude of what it means.

Certainly, I don't think I can fully understand the implications yet. That makes it harder to argue about. :whoknows:

Also, at this point it's tempting to just shrug and say, "That's my Bush!" and shake your head. The fact that Bush is a lame duck leads people to lower their guard and just let these transgressions be, as if his idiocy is somehow resolved by the fact that his term is almost over.

Of course the major part of his damage, the long-term part, has yet to be experienced -- so if anything, the furor over his Tinkertoy administration should be growing.

But for whatever reason, it's not. I guess people want to move on at any cost -- it's hard to blame them -- so packing the Justice Department with Pod People, and many other foolish ventures yet to be fully appreciated, will go largely unexamined.

So sad. But that's what we get for putting him in office: a populace who, for mortal fear of discovering how Bush screwed up yet again during his 7.5 years and counting, actually feel rewarded for not playing their part in representative government by demanding full accountability from a guy who's on the fast track to getting the same historical treatment as James Buchanan.

That's George W. Bush: James K. Polk for a new generation, minus all the things that have made Polk popular for 164 years and counting.

I can't wait to see how loudly Bush's woodwork-denizen supporters will howl when a liberal President makes use of his "innovations:" our newly fast-and-loose Constitution, a backhand-to-the-mouth approach to civil liberties, this beaten-up do-nothing Olive Oyl of a Congress, and total free reign on signing statements, to mention just a few.

Enjoy, short-sighted morons!

[ChocolateCitySkin]

You know why no one cares? Because no one is surprised. The GOP during Bush's term has been a national disgrace. Between this and what DeLay was doing in K street it's clear that republicans couldn't handle being in power.

Seriously though, it's like oh look at the new douche bag thing that Bush did... no-one is surprised.

We all knew something was up with the firings.

[aREDSKIN]

This administration just took partisanship to a new level. Time and time again, they chose 100 percent loyalty to Dubya instead of competence. And the administration and country suffered for it. No matter what political side of the aisle you're on, you should want qualified people in place. Heck, one of the biggest reasons things turned out so badly in Iraq is because so many incredibly underqualified people were given key jobs. If Bush and company had valued competence as much as party, Dubya's approval rating and legacy might be a lot different.

Indeed. But IMO it goes both ways. That's our political systeem unfortunately. It's who you know and what have you done for me lately instead of competence. Does anyone really think that Obama & McCain are really the 2 best qualified candidates to run the country?

[Hubbs]

I can understand politicians accepting corruption in order to further their own careers and gain more power/wealth/influence/poon for themselves. But it never ceases to amaze me when normal, everyday people in this country can have a blatant and obvious middle finger to everything we stand for shown to them, and as long as it's done in favor of the "side" they're on, they smile and say, "Great."

The responses in this thread disgust me a lot more than the story itself.

[Thiebear]

The last 2 years of the Democratic congress and the left leaning Scotus and Democratic Gov's are just not doing what they should...

Were not blaming a President without a Congress in the lame duck years of his office of this are we?