Monica Goodling news stories on Newser

No Charges for Biased Justice Officials: Mukasey

Nick McMaster — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:33:13 CDT

Michael Mukasey said today the ex-Justice Department employees who discriminated against candidates in hiring for political reasons will not face criminal charges, the New York Times reports. Prosecution would be inappropriate, the AG said, because the biased hiring practices violated federal civil service law, not criminal law.

US Attorney: I Was Fired Over Gay Rumors

Rob Quinn — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:37:33 CDT

One of the US attorneys fired in the 2006 sweep by Alberto Gonzales' Justice Department says she believes rumors of a lesbian relationship with a top prosecutor cost her the job and derailed the prosecutor’s career. “I am persuaded with deep regret that this is what was the basis,” Margaret...

Justice Dept. Hiring Practices Illegal: Report

Kevin Spak — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:21:01 CDT

Alberto Gonzales’ Justice Department illegally discriminated against applicants for career positions based on political considerations, a new report by the department's inspector general finds. Gonzales’ White House liaison Monica Goodling routinely violated civil service laws by asking "What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve...

Separation of Powers? Leave Prez's BlackBerry Out of It

Paul Stinson — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:28:45 CDT

The 44th president will almost certainly kick off his term by quitting email cold turkey, Jamie Sneider writes in the Weekly Standard . With executive-branch communication subject to public-disclosure law, President Bush hasn't send a single message, the former White House aide says—a coping mechanism that "fails to strike the...

Justice Dept. Will Investigate Whether Gonzales Lied

Sam Gale Rosen — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:56:00 CDT

The Justice Department will investigate whether Alberto Gonzales gave misleading testimony to Congress, including whether he lied about the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program and the US attorney firings. Inspector General Glenn Fine has alerted Congress to an expanded internal probe into the actions of the lame-luck AG, the Washington Post...

Elle Woods, Is That You?

M. Morris — Thu, 24 May 2007 08:49:39 CDT

Monica Goodling cleared a very low bar in her Congressional testimony yesterday, Slate 's Dahlia Lithwick argues, and she can thank the Democrats who questioned her for making her look good. The majority members of the House Judiciary Committee, "in expecting to question the Great Exploding Idiot Barbie," Lithwick writes,...

Ex-Justice Aide Points Fingers

M. Morris — Wed, 23 May 2007 13:26:26 CDT

The deputy attorney general dissembled in his Senate testimony about the US attorney firings, Monica Goodling told a House committee today. Testifying under limited immunity from prosecution, the AG's former White House liaison said Paul McNulty's account was "incomplete or inaccurate" and accused him of "downplaying" the White House's role...

Comey Defends Fired Attorneys

Colleen Barry — Fri, 04 May 2007 08:52:53 CDT

Most of the U.S. attorneys axed en masse by the Justice Department last year weren't underperforming, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey told a House panel yesterday. Comey, who left Justice over a year before the firings, said he'd rated the attorneys' performance for Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson...

Gonzales Aide Probed for Political Hiring

Dustin Lushing — Thu, 03 May 2007 06:58:29 CDT

The Justice Department is investigating whether Monoica Goodling, the former aide to Alberto Gonzales recently given immunitiy to testify before Congress, illegally used party loyalty as a criteria in hiring federal prosecutors. Goodling's position involved reviewing applications for prosecutors; it's a violation of federal law to consider political affiliation in...