Goodling to House Dems: I’m Not Talking to You, EitherIn a letter to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) today, Justice Department official Monica Goodling’s lawyer informed the committtee that she would plead the Fifth if called.
The committee struck a deal last night for the testimony of eight Justice Department officials, Goodling among them.
Goodling’s letter was nearly identical to an earlier letter sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But there was one interesting detail in the letter: “Ms. Goodling remains actively employed by the Department of Justice, though she is temporarily and voluntarily using some of her accrued leave time,” John Dowd, Goodling’s lawyer, writes [my emphasis].
So just to be clear: the departure from the Justice Department of the two aides (Goodling and Kyle Sampson) at the center of the U.S. attorney firings has lent the appearance that they were called to task. But that’s not at all true. Sampson left voluntarily, even remaining on the payroll for a number of days after he resigned — until questions were raised. And Goodling hasn’t really left at all. And, despite having pled the Fifth, she apparently plans to return to her job as if nothing ever happened.