Six years ago, senior U.S. Justice Department officials under Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dismissed prospective career employees in a politicized hiring scheme that used political and ideological affiliation to assess candidates.
The government doesn’t defend the misconduct. But officials say they think a Privacy Act lawsuit in Washington over the practices is without merit. U.S. District Judge John Bates dismissed the suit in December. At the same time, the judge said the case “reflects extremely troubling behavior” among high-ranking officials at DOJ.
