DOJ knowingly destroyed proof of political hiring's and deselected those whose views of law enforcement weren't consistent with the AG

The Department of Justice (DOJ) knowingly destroyed evidence that top-ranked law school graduates were not hired during the second Bush administration because of their presumed liberal leanings, the D.C. Circuit ruled.

In 2006, three top-ranked law school graduates applied to the Department of Justice's Honors Program, the exclusive means by which the department hires all of its entry-level attorneys. They were rejected.

Two years later, the Justice Department investigated reports that its hiring process had become politicized. The investigation found that the 2006 screening committee had "'deselected' 31 percent of the applicants forwarded by department components, an enormous increase over the previous three years, when the 'deselection' rate ranged between one and seven percent,'" according to the ruling.

The screening committee, composed of former President George W. Bush appointees Michael Elston and Esther McDonald, and one career U.S. attorney, Daniel Fridman, rejected any applicant that used "leftist commentary," belonged to a progressive group such as the American Constitution Society, or worked for a liberal judge, law professor or legislator, the report found. 
 
McDonald also looked up applicants on the internet and made handwritten comments on applications based on information she viewed online. One such comment stated that an applicant's law review article on Guantanamo Bay "was contrary to the position of the administration." Another indicated that an applicant was an "anarchist."

Elston also gave vague instructions to Fridman to deselect "wackos" or individuals who did not have "views consistent with the Attorney General's views on law enforcement," according to the report.

Using these methods, the screening committee deselected 40 percent of highly qualified liberal applicants and only 6 percent of highly qualified conservative applicants.

Although Justice Department employees, including Fridman, raised concerns about McDonald's methods, Elston permitted all the paper copies of the 2006 applications with written comments to be destroyed. McDonald testified that Elston told her "at least that's one thing I did right."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/04/02/56297.htm

SEAN GERLICH, ET AL, v. US DEPT. OF JUSTICE ruling:
http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/04/02/attorneys.pdf