Justice Dept. Expands Internal Inquiry

May 30, 2007— -- Wednesday the Department of Justice informed the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that it was expanding an internal investigation into the bungled firings of eight U.S. attorneys.

The internal probe is being expanded after Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department White House liaison, testified to Congress earlier this month that she may have broken the law by using political considerations in hiring career officials.

"We have expanded the scope of our investigation to include allegations regarding improper or other considerations in hiring decisions within the Department of Justice," wrote Glenn Fine, DOJ's inspector general, and Marshall Jarrett, chief of the Office of Professional Responsibility, to the chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Both the Inspector General's Office and the Office of Professional Responsibility serve as internal watchdogs for the department.

Last week, Goodling testified before the House Judiciary Committee that she may have gone "too far" and inadvertently "crossed the line" in asking political questions of applicants for nonpolitical jobs at the Department of Justice.

"I don't believe I intended to commit a crime," Goodling said in her appearance before the panel.

"I do acknowledge that I may have gone too far in asking political questions of applicants for career positions, and I may have taken inappropriate political considerations into account on some occasions. And I regret those mistakes," the former aide to Gonzales said.

Goodling took a leave of absence in March, as the political firestorm over the attorney dismissals began to grow. She stepped down permanently in April.

The former aide had initially told Congress she would invoke her Fifth Amendment right and refuse to testify about her role in the controversial U.S. attorney firings but received immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony.

"Ms. Goodling's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee indicated that political litmus tests were administered to applicants for some career, nonpolitical positions within the department," House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said in a statement Wednesday.