Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Justice Department investigators have expanded their probe into whether political considerations were improperly used in hiring, inquiring about personnel decisions as long as a year before Alberto Gonzales became attorney general.

Investigators have sent a letter to people who applied for jobs with the department, asking whether they were interviewed by any of four aides in the attorney general's office. The investigators want to know whether the applicants were questioned about such matters as who they voted for, their position on the death penalty and their favorite Supreme Court justice.

``Include as much detail in your answers as possible,'' said the letter, signed by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine and H. Marshall Jarrett, head of the agency's legal ethics office. Bloomberg News obtained a copy of the Aug. 24 letter from someone who sought a Justice Department job.

The two-page letter was accompanied by an 11-page questionnaire for the applicants to complete and return to investigators. The questions cover the period from Jan. 1, 2004, though April 2007. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft led the Justice Department during President George W. Bush's first term in office and was succeeded by Gonzales on Feb. 3, 2005.

Gonzales announced his resignation this week, effective Sept. 17, after months of turmoil over the firing of nine federal prosecutors and accusations that he misled Congress about the ousters and the administration's handling of an anti-terrorist surveillance program.

Joint Investigation

The joint investigation by Fine and Jarrett was triggered in March by the dismissal of the U.S. attorneys. It has expanded to include other allegations of wrongdoing, including the hiring practices, at the request of members of Congress.

Today, Fine told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, that internal investigators would asses whether Gonzales lied to lawmakers about the firings and the spying.

On May 30, Fine and Jarrett told the Senate Judiciary Committee they were examining hiring by Monica Goodling, former Justice Department liaison to the White House, and unidentified others. Earlier that month, Goodling told the House Judiciary Committee she ``crossed the line'' by inquiring about the party affiliations of applicants for non-political jobs.

The investigators also told the Senate panel they were reviewing allegations that applicants who belonged to such conservative organizations as the Federalist Society legal group were given favored consideration for career jobs in the department's Civil Rights Division, the agency's entry-level honors program and for summer internships.

Job Openings

The investigators' questionnaire asked whether the applicants were interviewed by Goodling or three other aides: Jan Williams, Goodling's predecessor; Kyle Sampson, Gonzales's former chief of staff; and Angela Williamson, who is now the Justice Department's deputy White House liaison. The liaison at the department works with the White House to fill job openings for political appointees.

The job candidates also were asked by Fine and Jarrett whether any of the four aides inquired about their religious beliefs, their sexual orientation, their position on the war on terrorism and what kind of conservative they were: ``law and order, social, fiscal.''

Cynthia Schnedar, a spokeswoman for the inspector general's office, declined to comment.

Political Views

Goodling, who left her job in April, testified in May before the House Judiciary Committee under a grant of limited immunity. She said she sometimes considered job candidates' political views when interviewing them for positions as immigration judges or assistant U.S. attorneys. Both jobs are covered by civil service laws prohibiting such assessments. Her attorney, John Dowd, declined to comment.

Sampson, a key figure in the prosecutor firings, quit the department in March. His lawyer, Bradford Berenson, declined to comment.

Williams couldn't be reached for comment. Williamson declined to comment through a Justice Department spokesman.

Ashcroft also didn't return a call seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmidt5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 30, 2007 14:37 EDT