Report Raps Justice Department for Political Hires in Honors Program
Updated: A report released today concludes that political appointees in the Justice Department focused on hiring conservative lawyers and eschewed liberals in an honors program for law graduates.
The report said a screening committee rejected applicants affiliated with Democratic or liberal causes at a much higher rate than those with Republican, conservative or politically neutral backgrounds, Reuters reports.
The inspector general’s report says the hiring effort began in 2002 during the administration of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and continued for five years, according to an advance story on the report by the Washington Post. At the time, the department said it had switched control of the program from career to political officials to open it up to wider pools of candidates.
About 150 law graduates get Justice Department jobs each year through the program.
Hiring decisions were returned to career lawyers last year after complaints to Congress.
The report was issued by Inspector General Glenn Fine and Office of Professional Responsibility chief H. Marshall Jarrett. Other studies are expected to cover prosecutor firings, problems in the civil rights division, and statements by former attorney general Alberto Gonzales, the Post story says.
Updated at 1:35 p.m. to say the report has been released and to include Reuters coverage.
