From Reuters:
"U.S. President George W. Bush's Justice Department improperly injected politics into hiring programs, a department investigation released on Tuesday found.
"A report by the department's inspector general and office of professional responsibility said members of a screening committee were asked to weed out "wackos" and ideological "extremists" who sought work in a competitive honors program for entry-level attorneys or as summer interns.
"It said the committee rejected applicants with liberal or Democratic affiliations at a much higher rate than those with Republican, conservative or politically neutral backgrounds."
Of course, we learned this last year when the House and Senate Judiciary Committees invited numerous Justice Department staffers and attorneys to join members of Congress and scads of journalists for under-oath chats.
It wasn't just the hiring that involved politics, you may recall. Reportedly, nine U.S. Attorneys were fired for political reasons: because they either went after prominent Republicans or failed to go after prominent Democrats. (For details, see Fired U.S. Attorney Scandal Overview.)
In other words, our nation's top law-enforcement agency may have been used as a weapon against political enemies of the Bush Administration or prominent Republicans.
This issue came up again in late 2007, after the highly questionable prosecution of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman. More about Siegelman in the 60 Minutes video below (there's a 15-second commercial at the beginning).
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