Ex-AG Alberto Gonzales Confesses to ‘Disappointment in Myself’ over DOJ Political Hiring
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales regrets political hiring in the Justice Department’s honors program and says he is “disappointed in myself” for failing to stop it.
Gonzales made his remarks in a deposition last September in a lawsuit claiming the Justice Department refused to hire the plaintiffs for political or ideological reasons, according to The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.
“Obviously everyone is smarter in hindsight. In hindsight you wish you would do some things differently and … I feel disappointment in myself,” Gonzales said in the deposition. “I, the attorney general, am ultimately responsible.”
U.S. District Judge John Bates of Washington, D.C., has dismissed constitutional claims filed against individual Justice Department officials in the suit, the story says. Motions for summary judgment are pending on claims alleging the Justice Department violated the Privacy Act by maintaining records of people involved in First Amendment expression.
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Va. Bar Reprimands Monica Goodling for Making Political Hiring Decisions in DOJ”
ABAJournal.com: “Ex-AG Gonzales Subleases Office Space at Texas Law Firm”
