Gonzales Aide Probed for Political Hiring

The Justice Department is investigating whether Monoica Goodling, the former aide to Alberto Gonzales recently given immunitiy to testify before Congress, illegally used party loyalty as a criteria in hiring federal prosecutors. Goodling's position involved reviewing applications for prosecutors; it's a violation of federal law to consider political affiliation in hiring for nonpolitical jobs.

The internal investigation into Goodling's conduct comes as two of the U.S. attorneys whose dismissals are being probed said they were pressured, by a senior Justice Department official, to keep quiet about the circumstances of their dismissals. They both received phone calls in January, the day before Gonzales testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering his silence in exchange for theirs, they say.

(More Alberto Gonzales stories.)