The lawyer for a Justice Department job applicant who claims he was rejected because of his “liberal affiliations” has gone back to federal court, adding five new plaintiffs and four individual defendants to bolster his case that politicization of the Justice Department hiring process was widespread.
Dan Metcalfe, who retired last year as a top Justice Department official, filed an amended complaint at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Friday morning. He represents Sean Gerlich, the original plaintiff, now working as a lawyer in Brussels, as well as the following people, who allege that politics led to their rejection as applicants for positions in the department’s honors or internship programs: Christopher Coleman of Pittsburgh; James Gooch of Portland, Maine; Benjamin Meier of New York City; James Saul of Madison, Wis.; and Jennifer Zajac of San Diego. All, according to the complaint filed Friday, were “grossly disappointed” by their rejections, and they claim violation of their First Amendment and Privacy Act rights because of the department’s investigation into their political leanings that led to their not being hired. Metcalfe asserts that more than 800 individuals were victims of the politicized hiring process.
