DoJ IG Investigates Monica Goodling for Illegal Hiring Discrimination Based on Political Affiliation

Dan Eggen and Carol D. Leonnig for WaPo report on how Monica Goodling tried to prevent the hiring of Seth Adam Meinero, a Howard University law school graduate who had worked on civil rights cases, because Meinero was too "liberal" for the job. When Jeffrey A. Taylor, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, wanted to hire a new career prosecutor last fall, he had to run the idea past Monica M. Goodling, then a 33-year-old aide to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. (…) Goodling stalled the hiring, saying that Meinero was too "liberal" for the nonpolitical position, said according to two sources familiar with the dispute. (…) Taylor complained to Goodling directly, according to two sources who were told about the conversation, saying that a U.S. attorney's office hires all kinds of people. Taylor also complained to Sampson, who was a friend and eventually gave Taylor the authority to bypass Goodling. Taylor mentioned the experience to U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg of Alexandria, the sources said. After Rosenberg became Gonzales's temporary chief of staff following Sampson's resignation, he asked the department's inspector general to look into Taylor's allegations, they added.