According to the inspector general, McDonald declined to be interviewed by the inspector general and resigned from her Justice Department job the day before her interview with the inspector general was to take place.
McDonald had been hired by Monica Goodling, who served as counselor to Gonzales, and was a central figure in the controversial plan to fire the U.S. attorneys last year, which resulted in Gonzales' resignation and the departure of many in the top ranks of the department.
Calls to McDonald were not returned Tuesday, and e-mails to Elston from ABC News were not returned.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the report "confirms our findings and our fears that the same senior department officials involved with the firing of United States attorneys, were injecting improper political motives into the process of hiring young attorneys. I suspect further reports from the inspector general will continue to shed light on the extent to which the Bush administration has allowed politics to affect -- and infect -- the department's priorities."
In response to the report, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said in a statement, "The Department overhauled its honors program and summer law intern program hiring processes last year, and I am pleased that the report remarked positively on these institutional changes. I have also made clear, and will continue to make clear, that the consideration of political affiliations in the hiring of career department employees is impermissible and unacceptable."
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