DOJ Probe Considers Whether Lawyer Was Ousted Due to Sexual Orientation Rumor

A Justice Department probe is considering whether a career lawyer there was ousted from her job because of rumors that she is a lesbian.

Investigators with the Justice Department’s inspector general have raised questions about a decision to dismiss Leslie Hagen, a liaison between DOJ and the U.S. attorneys' committee on Native American issues, National Public Radio reports. The investigators questioned several staffers about the October 2006 decision.

Sources told NPR about a meeting in which senior officials were told Hagen’s contract would not be renewed because someone in the attorney general’s office had a problem with Hagen’s rumored sexual orientation.

Hagen received the highest rating for her work in her final evaluation, an assessment shared by many of her colleagues who “raved about her work” in interviews with NPR. Hagen now works in the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs under another temporary contract. Those who knew her said she was hurt by her ouster and just wants to focus on her work. Hagen did not comment for NPR.

A hat tip to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, which posted the story.