That very creepy question is from the new Department of Justice report on Monica Goodling, co-starring Kyle Sampson and other perves prominent in Alberto Gonzales’ tenure at DoJ. TPM has links and deets. (One wonders whether, in Goodling’s mind, the h in “him” was uppercase. Wouldn’t surprise me.)
Aside from all that nastiness, apparently there’s also some concern that “will and pleasure” appointees might be/have been quietly sliding into career civil service positions. somebody sent a WaPo story on this to me this w/e that says:
“Two leading Senate Democrats asked Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey yesterday to “exercise vigilance” and ensure that political appointees do not improperly wheedle their way into permanent slots at the beleaguered Justice Department.
Sens. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) wrote to department leaders seeking “personal assurances” that they would monitor employment decisions at Justice as the Bush administration draws to a close.
“When unqualified political appointees take over jobs better left to skilled candidates, it threatens the agency’s professionalism and independence,” Schumer said. “We don’t need ideological stowaways undermining the work of the next administration.”
Yeah, we don’t need to happen at DOJ under Bush what happened at State and Defense under Clinton.
The evidence at hand indicates Goodling’s behavior was SOP for the Bush administration.