WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Justice Department officials blocked liberals and people with Democratic Party ties from a highly selective program that funneled young lawyers into government jobs , according to an internal investigation released Tuesday . A bias against liberals existed in a Justice program meant to hire young lawyers , an investigation found . Esther Slater McDonald , a political appointee at the Justice Department , `` wrote disparaging statements about the candidates ' liberal and Democratic Party affiliations on the applications she reviewed and ... she voted to deselect candidates on that basis , '' said the report by Inspector General Glenn Fine . McDonald , who has left the department , refused to be interviewed for the investigation . The report , the first official investigation to document politicization of the Justice Department during the Bush administration , is an offshoot of the larger investigation of Justice Department politics triggered by the furor over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys . It found two of three members of a screening committee considered political views and experience when choosing new lawyers for the Justice Department Honors Program and Summer Law Intern Program . The report found that McDonald and Michael Elston , the chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty , engaged in misconduct , an administrative violation . The third member of the screening committee , career lawyer Dan Fridman , was cleared of any involvement in the politicization of the process . Elston was interviewed by the investigators , who asked him about the role of former Justice Department official Monica Goodling in politicizing the selection process . Elston told investigators he could not recall Goodling telling him to select lawyers who appeared to share Attorney General Alberto Gonzales ' philosophy . Goodling testified before a House panel last year that she had told Elston he should identify such candidates . Goodling directed Elston to lead the selection committee in 2006 . She and Elston have both left the Justice Department . She refused to be interviewed for the inspector general 's report . As a result of the controversy , the hiring process was changed in 2007 to insulate hiring decisions from political considerations . Both Justice Department policy and federal law prohibit discrimination in hiring for career positions on the basis of political affiliations . The report did not find clear evidence that an earlier screening committee took political considerations into account . It says data from 2002 shows a disparity in the hiring of liberal and conservative candidates , but there were no complaints about the committee 's work from 2003 to 2006 , when Goodling put Elston in charge of the process . The report Tuesday is the first of perhaps several to be issued as the broad-ranging investigation into the role partisan politics has played in the Justice Department during the Bush administration . Goodling is expected to be a central figure in later inspector general reports examining efforts to increase the influence of conservatives in the department . The Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility , a separate watchdog office that monitors prosecutorial conduct , joined in the inspector general 's investigation . CNN 's Terry Frieden contributed to this report .
Programs used to prepare young lawyers for the internship and honors programs . Investigation stems from firing of U.S. Attorney in 2006 . Members of selection committee screened out liberals and Democrats , report says . Hiring process started in 2007 to stop political bias from occurring .