An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General

A report on “An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General” by the U.S. Department of Justice is available care of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin makes for “interesting” reading.  Download final1.txt   See especially Chapter 6 (pp. 69-124) on IMMIGRATION JUDGE AND BOARD OF IMMIGRATION APPEALS MEMBER HIRING DECISIONS.  Page 115 of the report reads:

“Kyle Sampson, Jan Williams, and Monica Goodling each violated Department of Justice policy and federal law by considering political or ideological affiliations in soliciting and evaluating candidates for IJs, which are Schedule A career positions, not political appointments. Further, the evidence demonstrates that their violations were not isolated instances but were systematic in nature. The evidence demonstrates further that Goodling violated Department policy and federal law by considering political or ideological affiliations in selecting candidates for the BIA.”

The reports (pp. 88-90) notes that two immigration judges were hired despite the fact they never applied for the jobs nor were they interviewed by Executive Office for Immigration Review.

For the N.Y. Times story on the report, which reads the report as laying blame on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s top aides, click here.

KJ