DOJ Inspector General Releases Monica Goodling Report:
You can read the report here.
UPDATE: Looking over the report, I think it's important to keep in mind the critical line between the use of political considerations in hiring for political positions and the use of political considerations in hiring for career slots. The former is of course okay; the latter is not. The report does note the difference, although the way the report is structured the two are sometimes presented together. (Also, while slots at OLC are technically career slots, I've always though that this is more a matter of form than substance: As a practical matter it seems that most OLC attorneys come in for Administrations they support and then leave when their side gets voted out.)
ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's an example of the shenanigans that the report discovered:
UPDATE: Looking over the report, I think it's important to keep in mind the critical line between the use of political considerations in hiring for political positions and the use of political considerations in hiring for career slots. The former is of course okay; the latter is not. The report does note the difference, although the way the report is structured the two are sometimes presented together. (Also, while slots at OLC are technically career slots, I've always though that this is more a matter of form than substance: As a practical matter it seems that most OLC attorneys come in for Administrations they support and then leave when their side gets voted out.)
ANOTHER UPDATE: Here's an example of the shenanigans that the report discovered:
A career attorney from the Department's Criminal Division was detailed to the ODAG [Office of the Deupty Attorney General] in July 2005 for a short period to work on the Department's Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, as well as other issues such as anti-gangs initiatives, violent crime, and firearms.P. 53-54.
In an October 2005 e-mail exchange, Sampson told William Mercer, who was the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General at the time, that he thought highly of the candidate and supported the possibility of extending her detail to the ODAG for a longer period. Mercer replied that "Jan [Williams] says she's a big D." Sampson replied, "I've heard that -- even so, she's very strong." Sampson told us that he wanted this attorney for an ODAG detail and did not care that she was a Democrat. Sampson told us he knew that the candidate supported the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which was her initial assignment in the ODAG, and so her political affiliation did not matter to him. The candidate's detail was extended several times, and she served in the ODAG until July 2007 when she became Counselor to the OLP Assistant Attorney General.
Elston told us, however, that either Williams or Goodling told him that they did not want to extend the detail because she was a Democrat. Elston said that the detailee's supervisor told him that if the detailee left ODAG, he would "throw himself out the window." Elston said he felt the same way about her. According to Elston, for a period of time the OAG would only extend the detail on a month-to-month basis, until Goodling grudgingly extended it for 6 months.