JURIST - Paper Chase: Goodling denies key role in US Attorney firings, disputes McNulty testimony

[JURIST] Former US Department of Justice aide Monica Goodling [JURIST news archive] testified before the House Judiciary Committee [official website] Wednesday about the fired US Attorneys scandal [JURIST news archive], saying she did not play a key role in the firings [prepared statement, PDF] but believed that previous Senate Judiciary Committee testimony [JURIST report] by Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty was "incomplete or inaccurate in a number of respects." Goodling, who was granted immunity for her testimony, admitted to considering applicants based on their politics, a violation of federal law. In addition, Goodling testified that at least one US Attorney was fired to open a spot for a protege of Karl Rove, but she believed Rove's role in the firings was minimal.

Goodling resigned [JURIST report] from her position as White House liaison at the DOJ in April. The Justice Department has been investigating [JURIST report] whether she considered the political affiliations of candidates for career prosecutor positions, which she admitted today. On Tuesday, she refused to comply [JURIST report] with a document subpoena without Justice Department approval. AP has more.

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