The Justice Department’s decision to replace eight US Attorneys at the end of 2006 could have slipped quietly into the bureaucratic annals. Instead, it exploded into scandal when critics—including several of the fired attorneys themselves—charged that the firings had been politically motivated. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dismissed the affair as little more than “an overblown personnel matter,” but the Democratic Congress seized on Attorneygate, subpoenaing Justice and administration players and forcing a messy confrontation on the issue of executive privilege. Meanwhile, calls for the AG to resign continue to trickle in from both sides of the aisle—leaving the Bush loyalist's future decidedly uncertain.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorSun, 07 Sep 2008 8:54:45 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/36363/gonzales-mishandled-secret-docs-regrets-lapse.html?refid=rss_all_defaultLawyers for Alberto Gonzales admit in a memo released today that he mishandled highly classified notes about a secret counterterrorism program, but say it was unintentional and didn't result in leaks, the AP reports. A government report due out tomorrow is expected to criticize Gonzales's handling of the notes, which he improperly stored and may have taken home.http://www.newser.com/story/36363/gonzales-mishandled-secret-docs-regrets-lapse.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 01 Sep 2008 16:25:44 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34754/no-charges-for-biased-justice-officials-mukasey.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMichael 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.http://www.newser.com/story/34754/no-charges-for-biased-justice-officials-mukasey.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 12 Aug 2008 13:55:01 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33859/bush-aides-must-testify-judge.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTurning aside White House arguments that top aides are protected from subpoenas by executive privilege, a judge ruled today that Harriet Miers must testify before a congressional committee on the firings of nine federal prosecutors, the Washington Post reports. Miers and fellow aide Joshua Bolten can, however, invoke executive privilege in declining to respond to specific questions.http://www.newser.com/story/33859/bush-aides-must-testify-judge.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 31 Jul 2008 11:42:26 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33627/in-politicizing-justice-appalling-betrayal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultNew confirmation that the Justice Department used political criteria in hiring for career positions shouldn’t just outrage the maybe-liberals they discriminated against, derailing careers because they were gay, say, or had a wife who was a Democrat, a former Clinton administration official writes in the Washington Post . It’s a major blow against the entire institution, argues Jamie Gorelick.http://www.newser.com/story/33627/in-politicizing-justice-appalling-betrayal.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 29 Jul 2008 11:22:01 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33608/us-attorney-i-was-fired-over-gay-rumors.html?refid=rss_all_defaultOne 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 Chiara told the Los Angeles Times after yesterday’s damning report by the department’s inspector general.http://www.newser.com/story/33608/us-attorney-i-was-fired-over-gay-rumors.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 29 Jul 2008 4:07:05 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33109/cautious-mukasey-disappoints-former-backers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultAttorney General Michael Mukasey's cautious approach has disappointed one-time backers who hoped for a new direction at the Justice Department, reports the New York Times . He has been reluctant to probe the US attorney firings that triggered predecessor Alberto Gonzales' downfall, and has moved at a snail's pace on issues from torture to mortgage fraud, critics charge.http://www.newser.com/story/33109/cautious-mukasey-disappoints-former-backers.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 22 Jul 2008 22:19:00 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32164/lawmakers-make-much-of-karl-roves-empty-seat.html?refid=rss_all_defaultKarl Rove ignored a subpoena ordering him to appear before a House committee probing alleged abuses of power in the Justice Department yesterday—and the committee didn't let that get in their way. Lawmakers printed a name card for Rove, pointed a mike at an empty chair, fetched a cool glass of water for the absent Bush strategist, and disparaged his absence freely, reports Dana Millbank in the Washington Post.http://www.newser.com/story/32164/lawmakers-make-much-of-karl-roves-empty-seat.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 10 Jul 2008 22:16:32 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30807/probe-finds-bias-in-justice-dept-hiring.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Justice Department screened applicants to its internship and recruitment programs for conservative attitudes and credentials, rejecting applicants with liberal-sounding resumes, the Washington Post reports. Today's report by the department’s inspector general details a history of partisan hiring practices beginning in 2002 and concludes that the process "undermined confidence in the integrity of the department's hiring processes."http://www.newser.com/story/30807/probe-finds-bias-in-justice-dept-hiring.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 24 Jun 2008 14:15:35 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/30139/us-attorney-probe-moves-forward.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFor the first time since it came to light 2 years ago, the US attorneys scandal has gone beyond the investigative phase. The Justice Department has asked for a grand jury to hear evidence as it weighs perjury charges against a former interim US attorney, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bradley Schlozman left government last year under fire after bragging about hiring only Bush-friendly lawyers and bringing charges against a liberal voter-registration group.http://www.newser.com/story/30139/us-attorney-probe-moves-forward.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 16 Jun 2008 15:44:57 CDT