Monica Goodling, who had refused to testify before the House Judiciary Committee until she was granted court-approved immunity, had plenty to say to the committee Wednesday. The former Justice Department liaison with the White House criticized Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, who she said was “not fully candid” with Congress. Goodling also admitted unintentionally breaking federal law by assessing prosecutor candidates on the basis of political allegiance.

AP via LA Times:

Goodling told the House committee that she and others at the Justice Department fully briefed McNulty, who is resigning later this year, about the circumstances before his Feb. 6 testimony in front of a Senate panel. Goodling also said Kyle Sampson, who resigned in March as chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, compiled the list of prosecutors who were purged last year.

She said she never spoke to former White House counsel Harriet Miers or Karl Rove, President Bush’s top political adviser, about the firings. But she admitted to have considered applicants for jobs as career prosecutors based on their political loyalties — a violation of federal law.

“I may have gone too far, and I may have taken inappropriate political considerations into account on some occasions,” Goodling said. “And I regret those mistakes.”

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