Feds Probe Lesbian Attorney's Firing  | News | Advocate.com

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April 04, 2008
Feds Probe Lesbian Attorney's Firing

Federal investigators are evaluating whether a U.S. Department of Justice official fired an attorney because of her sexual orientation. Several people questioned by the DOJ's inspector general told National Public Radio, which reported the story on Wednesday, that they thought Leslie Hagen was dismissed for rumors that she was a lesbian. The probe into her firing stems from the dismissals of federal attorneys under former attorney general Alberto Gonzales, who left office after a congressional investigation into the firing of employees who did not seem to be loyal to the Bush administration.

A February 2007 evaluation shows that Hagen received outstanding ratings for her job performance; the evaluation came several months after she was told the department would not renew her contract. However, Hagen wanted to keep her position. According to the report, Hagen's job comes up for renewal annually, and her supervisors wanted to renew her contract.

Many of her former colleagues interviewed by NPR attested to her outstanding performance, including former U.S. attorney Tom Heffelfinger, who hired Hagen in October 2005.

"I felt at the time she was the best-qualified person in the nation to fill that job," Heffelfinger said in the report. "I was never consulted about her performance as liaison to the Native American Issues Committee, and I never heard any criticism of her performance from any other component within the department."

Hagen was told that a contract like hers was "a privilege" to have and that rotating new people through the job annually gave more people a chance to serve. However, according to the report, two other people in her office had their contracts renewed for another year.

Justice Department senior counselor Monica Goodling, who had shown interest in Hagen's job, removed part of Hagen's job portfolio just months before Hagen was let go. Goodling left the department last year after admitting to making personnel decisions that discriminated against DOJ lawyers who showed "improper partisan considerations." While many who were fired had liberal leanings, Hagen was a Republican lobbyist. However, one source told NPR, "to some people, [being a lesbian] is even worse than being a Democrat." (The Advocate)

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