Monday's report singles out the department's former White House liaison, Monica Goodling, for violating federal law and Justice Department policy by discriminating against job applicants who weren't Republican or conservative loyalists.

''Goodling improperly subjected candidates for certain career positions to the same politically based evaluation she used on candidates for political positions,'' the report concludes.

In one instance, Justice investigators found, Goodling objected to hiring an assistant prosecutor in Washington because ''judging from his resume, he appeared to be a liberal Democrat.''

In another, she rejected an experienced terror prosecutor to work on counterterror issues at a Justice Department headquarters office ''because of his wife's political affiliations,'' the report found.

Goodling's attorney, John Dowd, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, and other attempts to reach Goodling were unsuccessful.

The federal government makes a distinction between so-called ''career'' appointees and ''political'' appointees, and the long-accepted custom has been that career workers are not hired on the basis of political affiliation or allegiance.

The 140-page report does not indicate whether Goodling or former Gonzales chief of staff Kyle Sampson could face any charges. None of those involved in the discriminatory hiring still work at Justice, meaning they will avoid any department penalties.

However, Justice investigators said that Goodling, at least, may lose her license to practice law as a result of the findings.

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