Did party matter in Justice Dept. hiring?

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has launched an internal investigation into whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' former White House liaison illegally took party affiliation into account in hiring career federal prosecutors, officials said Wednesday.

The allegations against Monica Goodling represent a potential violation of federal law and signal that a joint probe begun in March by the department's inspector general and the Office of Professional Responsibility has expanded beyond the controversial dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys last year.

The revelations about Goodling were among several developments Wednesday in connection with the prosecutor firings, including a new subpoena seeking presidential adviser Karl Rove's e-mails and new accusations from two of the dismissed U.S. attorneys.

In newly released statements, John McKay of Seattle and Paul Charlton of Phoenix alleged that they were threatened by Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty's chief of staff immediately before Gonzales testified in the Senate in January.

Two other prosecutors also complained pointedly about Michael Elston, according to the statements released Wednesday.

Carol Lam of San Diego wrote that Elston "erroneously accused me of 'leaking' my dismissal to the press, and criticized me for talking to other dismissed U.S. attorneys."

Bud Cummins of Little Rock, Ark., repeated his account of a Feb. 20 phone conversation with Elston, two days after Cummins was quoted in a newspaper article. Cummins wrote that Elston "essentially said that if the controversy continued, then some of the USAs [U.S. attorneys] would have to be 'thrown under the bus.' " Elston has previously described Cummins' reaction as the product of a misunderstanding.

The firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year sparked a furor in Congress as Gonzales and other Justice officials offered shifting explanations for the move. McKay and another prosecutor, David Iglesias of New Mexico, also have alleged improper contacts from GOP lawmakers about ongoing criminal investigations, causing some Democrats to allege that some of the prosecutors were sacked for political reasons.

Justice spokesman Dean Boyd said that as part of her job, Goodling reviewed applications for entry-level prosecutor jobs in some offices headed by interim or acting U.S. attorneys. In those cases, Boyd said, Goodling "may have taken prohibited considerations into account."

Boyd noted that it is against federal law and internal Justice policies to consider political affiliation in hiring for nonpolitical jobs.

The investigation of Goodling complicates efforts by the House Judiciary Committee to offer her immunity in exchange for testimony. Goodling quit as Gonzales' senior counselor last month and has invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to answer questions from Congress about the U.S. attorney firings. Goodling's attorney, John Dowd, said Wednesday that Goodling would agree to testify under such a deal.

Also Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to Gonzales seeking all of Rove's e-mails in Justice Department custody related to the firings.

The subpoena to Gonzales from Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., demands copies of any e-mails sent by Rove — through either the White House or the Republican National Committee — related to the appointment, performance or replacement of U.S. attorneys and career or political personnel at the Justice Department.