Report: Sexual Orientation a Factor in DOJ Attorney-Hiring Practices

[WSJ_law_blog]

It was around this time last year that The U.S. Attorney Mess really started to give in earnest. From that point, it just kept on giving right through the spring and summer — from the April resignation of Monica Goodling, who played a role in the controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys, to the resignation of her boss, former AG Alberto Gonzales in August.

Lo and behold, it continues to give.

Now, according to a recent report from NPR, the DOJ’s inspector general, Glenn Fine, during the course of his investigation into the U.S. Attorney mess began investigating a related topic: Whether a career attorney in the department, Leslie Hagen, was dismissed from her job because of rumors that she’s a lesbian. According to the NPR report, people interviewed by the inspector general’s staff say they came away with the impression that the AG’s office decided not to renew Hagen’s contract because of the talk about her sexual orientation.

A former U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Tom Heffelfinger, recruited Hagen in October 2005 to come to Washington from Michigan, where she’d been a federal prosecutor. The job Hagen filled at Justice comes up for renewal every year. According to NPR’s DOJ sources, she’d hoped to stay in the position rather than return to Michigan as a prosecutor.

Hagen received the highest possible ratings for her work as liaison between the Department and the U.S. attorneys’ committee on Native American issues, and her superiors wanted her to stay on, according to the NPR report. But in October 2006, the AG’s office notified Hagen that her contract wouldn’t be renewed.

Neither Hagen nor the inspector general’s office nor the DOJ commented for the NPR story.

The full report from NPR?s Justice Correspondent Ari Shapiro is airing today on the afternoon newsmagazine “All Things Considered.” Complete audio of the report will be available at 7:00PM (EST) at NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts