Falling short of justice

Monday, Aug. 18, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

The Justice Department has not yet concluded its investigation into the 2006 firings of nine U.S. attorneys, firings that are suspected of being largely motivated by partisan politics.

But the department has finished its investigation into another internal scandal that is just as notorious — the hiring of dozens of prosecutors, immigration judges, interns and other staff members based on their political and social views.

Both the U.S. attorney firings and the hiring fiascos took place after Alberto Gonzales became attorney general in February 2005. Gonzales, an ally of President Bush’s dating back to his days as Texas governor, resigned in disgrace a year ago.

Last week the Justice Department’s inspector general’s office released its 140-page report about the illegally conducted hirings. Prominently mentioned were D. Kyle Sampson, formerly Gonzales’ chief of staff, and Monica Goodling, a political appointee first assigned to duties in the department’s press office who rose rapidly to become the department’s liaison to the White House.

The report found that Sampson, Goodling and their deputies politicized the hiring of immigration judges, who have the power to deport people, as well as the hiring of other civil service employees. Their power over hiring was all but absolute, and they would consistently choose Republicans whose views on the issues matched the Bush administration’s over other candidates whom they perceived as being liberal.

This was simply outrageous conduct, as federal hiring rules clearly prohibit such discrimination. The inspector general’s report concluded that Sampson and Goodling, who both resigned last year, and others broke federal civil service laws as well as department policy.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey, a former federal judge who succeeded Gonzales, acknowledged that “the system failed.” But he said no criminal charges — or any discipline — would be pursued against Sampson, Goodling and five others found to be complicit in the illegal hirings.

He said the publicity attendant to their actions has been punishment enough. We disagree. The careers of many people were harmed because they blithely chose to subvert civil service laws. They should be held accountable.