> No independent government testing is required

Yes, but as we are so well aware these days, "independent government" no
longer exists

> Investigators found that applicants for both career and political posts
had to pass tests of loyalty to conservative politics. The most flagrant
enforcers of an ideological litmus test have since left the department and
are not subject to administrative discipline

> In a textbook example of how politicizing the department can harm the
nation, the report pointed to the case of an applicant who was a highly
qualified career counter-terror prosecutor. The department rejected him
because of his wife's Democratic politics and instead chose a much less
experienced lawyer with Republican credentials.

> The attorney general at the time, Alberto Gonzales, said he was not aware
that his aides were using political criteria in hiring decisions.

-- Boston Globe

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