Monica Goodling | The Shame of Pat Robertson's Law School

"But I didn't mean to," mewed Monica Goodling, as she evaded admitting that she broke the law.

Monica Goodling, along with 150 others, are graduates of Pat Robertson's Regent University law school hired by the Bush administration. Monica Goodling, a former Justice Department employee, played a role in the firing of seven US Attorneys last year. She pled the Fifth Amendment before Congress, refusing to implicate herself by testifying under oath.

Regent University, "America's Preeminent Christian University," is ranked a tier four law school, the lowest rating possible, by US News and World Report. Regent's tagline reads, "Christian Leadership to Change the World."

Goodling also passed over qualified attorneys to hire less qualified attorneys who toed the Republican party line. From Time To Prosecute Goodling And Company,

The damning report by the Office of Professional Responsibility establishes for all time that former Justice officials Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson, to name just a few, violated federal law and Department policy when they "improperly considered political or ideological affiliations in screening candidates for certain career positions" at Justice. Over and over again, these lawyers and public servants put their ideological goals over the work of the nation.

From the OIG Report: "We concluded that the most systemic use of improper political or ideological affiliations in screening candidates for career positions occurred in the selection of immigration judges, who work in the Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review..... Goodling screened candidates for immigration judges using a variety of techniques for determining their political affiliation, including researching the candidates' political contributions and voter registration records, and using an Internet search string containing political terms."

Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing.net titled his Goodling post Compunctious smirk of Justice Department official accused of federal crime and wrote perceptively of Goodling, "My five-year-old daughter pulled this same face when I reprimanded her for sneaking a box of brown sugar into the backyard to feast on it."

- From the US Department of Justice | An Investigation of Allegations of Politicized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the Attorney General

- Monica Goodling, One of 150 Pat Robertson Cadres in the Bush Administration

- Antidote | Daily Show: Monica Goodling and Pat Robertson University