Playing favorites

Friday, June 27, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

It turns out the political shenanigans the Bush administration orchestrated within the Justice Department were not limited to the inappropriate firings in 2006 of Nevada’s Daniel Bogden and eight other U.S. attorneys. Those firings were linked to the belief that they were somehow disloyal to the Republican administration because of the emphasis the prosecutors placed on certain cases or the way they ran their offices.

Now comes a report, released Tuesday by the department’s inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility, that describes evidence of political and ideological favoritism in the selection of entry-level attorneys and interns. The favoritism became apparent in 2002 but the report singled out 2006 as the year those untoward practices resumed and became more blatant.

Competition is often fierce for those positions. But department staff members overseeing the selection process added a wrinkle by rejecting a disproportionate number of applicants who had liberal affiliations such as membership in the American Constitution Society versus competitors who belonged to the conservative Federalist Society. Far more Democrats than Republicans were turned down. This was true even when the examined candidates were narrowed down to those with the highest academic achievement.

The report concluded that two former staff members committed misconduct and violated department policies as well as civil service laws that “prohibit discrimination in hiring based on political or ideological affiliations.”

It is of little surprise that such favoritism worsened during the watch of Alberto Gonzales, who resigned as attorney general last year under a cloud of controversy. Political and ideological favoritism has no business infiltrating the department. Its mission as the nation’s prosecuting arm should not be tainted by zealots who would prefer that justice be meted out based on partisanship. It is a lesson Gonzales learned too little too late.

The department, with a new attorney general, no longer engages in controversial hiring practices, the report stated. That is welcome news because the nation can ill-afford to return to the type of partisan atmosphere Gonzales created.