Goodling to testify on May 23

http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0507/Goodling_to_testify_on_May_23.html

Monica Goodling, a former senior aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Justice Department liaison to the White House, will testify on Wednesday, May 23, before the House Judiciary Committee, the panel announced.

Goodling is a key player in the ongoing congressional probe into the mass firing of U.S. attorneys last year, and the Judiciary Committee sought and was granted a limited-use immunity deal in return for her testimony in this probe. Without immunity, Goodling had refused to answer any questions about her role in the firings, and instead invoked her Fifth Amendment right not incriminate herself.

Justice Dept, insiders have accused Goodling of being a driving force behind an effort to "politicize" hirings at the DOJ, including rejecting prosecutors with Democratic ties, with several telling The New York Times that "they found her activities objectionable and damaging to the integrity of the department."

Goodling and Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' former chief of staff, were also granted extraordinary authority by Gonzales in a secret memo to hire and fire senior offiicals, although not U.S. attorneys and not without the attorney general's approval.