Judge Dismisses Civil Suit Against Former Attorney General Gonzales

A federal judge this week dismissed civil claims against former attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales, rejecting a lawsuit by job applicants who argue that they were blacklisted from the Justice Department during the Bush era because of their ideology.

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates concluded that the unsuccessful job candidates had not followed the appropriate steps in the civil service system before filing their lawsuit in the District last year.

The lawsuit closely followed a 2008 report by the department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility, which found that screeners for the prestigious honors and summer intern hiring programs during the Bush years improperly took political and ideological considerations into account.

"The court agrees that misconduct by senior government officials -- especially when it implicates the First Amendment -- is gravely serious and must not be condoned," Bates wrote. "But defendants have raised several threshold issues that potentially prevent this court from considering the merits of plaintiffs' case."

The judge's decision effectively ends the lawsuit as to Gonzales, who resigned two years ago amid the hiring scandal; Monica Goodling, the department's liaison to the Bush White House; Michael Elston, former chief of staff to the deputy attorney general; Esther Slater McDonald, a junior member of the screening panel; and Louis DeFalaise, who remains at the Justice Department's Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management.

The 2008 inspector general report into the hiring process said Goodling and others asked questions designed to ferret out the political affiliation of candidates. Screeners also employed an Internet search string to secure information about the job seekers that probed: "bush or gore or republican! or democrat! or charg! or accus! or criticiz! or blam! or defend! or iran contra or clinton or spotted owl or florida recount or sex! or controvers! or racis! or fraud! or investigat! or bankrupt! or layoff! or downsiz! or PNTR or NAFTA or outsourc! or indict! or enron or kerry or iraq or wmd! or arrest! or intox! or fired or sex! or racis! or intox! or slur! or arrest! or fired or controvers! or abortion! or gay! or homosexual! or gun! or firearm!"

In his ruling late Wednesday, the judge carved out a portion of the case that could proceed against the Justice Department itself. Bates ruled that a few job seekers whose background had been subject to Internet searches may have valid claims under the Privacy Act because the government had allegedly improperly maintained printouts of the material, which since have been destroyed.