More evidence released of politics in Justice Dept. hiring

[waiting for hope]

More evidence released of politics in Justice Dept. hiring

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20090113/pl_mcclatchy/3143620

By Greg Gordon, McClatchy Newspapers – 1 hr 17 mins ago

WASHINGTON — A former acting chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division considered political affiliations in hiring and personnel actions — which is illegal — and lied in congressional testimony to conceal his misconduct, internal investigators say in a report that was made public Tuesday.

Evidence that the former official, Bradley Schlozman , committed perjury on June 5, 2007 , in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee was referred to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia , who declined to prosecute, the department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility say in their report.

The 70-page report concludes that the Civil Rights Division ``improperly used political or ideological affiliations'' in assessing applicants for experienced and entry-level career jobs. It says that Schlozman violated the federal Civil Service Reform Act and department policy that prohibits discrimination in federal employment based on political or ideological leanings.

The report also concludes that senior managers in the Civil Rights Division, including former chiefs R. Alexander Acosta , who's now the U.S. attorney in Miami , and Wan Kim , ``failed to exercise sufficient oversight to ensure that Schlozman did not engage in inappropriate hiring and personnel practices.''

The report is the fourth public accounting of a series of internal investigations stemming from the 2007 scandal over politicization of the Justice Department , a controversy that led to the resignations of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and more than a dozen other Justice and White House officials.


~Snip~