When news broke that former Bush administration official Monica Goodling had been reprimanded by the Virginia bar for her role in politicizing the Justice Department’s hiring and promotion process, a bar official said Goodling was working in market research in Arlington, Va.
A quick Google search for a Monica Goodling working as a flack in Virginia didn’t turn up any results, so we figured she was keeping a low profile. But the Washington Post managed to track down Goodling –working under her married name, Monica Krempasky — at a firm called Corallo Media Strategies under Mark Corallo, her former boss in DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs.
Corallo, who was a close associate of Goodling at DOJ, also serves as a senior advisor at the Ashcroft Group under former Attorney General John Ashcroft, who just signed up as an ethics advisor at Blackwater. He previously ran a crisis management firm called Corallo Comstock Inc. with Barbara Comstock, who used to run opposition research for the Republican National Committee and chaired Scooter Libby’s defense fund.
A lawyer for Goodling told WaPo that they’re “very pleased” with the “good result” from the bar since Goodling is “still entitled to practice law.”
According to her biography at Corallo Media Strategies, the former Ms. Goodling “lives in Virginia with her husband and three cute but unruly dogs, who mostly flunked their puppy training classes.” At Corallo Media Strategies, she assists with strategic planning, produces written and promotional materials and provides research and analysis for clients.
Meanwhile, a couple of Goodling’s victims are doing pretty well for themselves in the Obama administration. Robin C. Ashton, who was told her “Monica problem” was preventing her promotion at DOJ, was named by Attorney General Eric Holder to head up DOJ’s internal ethics office.
Leslie Hagan, who was reportedly dismissed by Goodling over rumors she was gay, got her old position back.
William Hochul, whom Goodling passed over for a key counterterrorism role “solely on the basis of his wife’s political party affiliation,” is now the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. His wife Kathy Hochul is running in a special election in New York’s 26th District to replace former Rep. Chris Lee (R) of shirtless Craigslist personal ad fame.
Here’s Goodling’s full bio:
Monica has over 10 years experience in the public relations, communications, and research fields. At Corallo Media Strategies, Monica assists with strategic planning to promote our clients’ public relations goals, in addition to producing effective written and promotional materials, and providing research and analysis for clients.
In the past, Monica served as the Principal Deputy Director for Public Affairs and Senior Counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, where she managed and executed public relations campaigns for complex high-stakes litigation, promoted public policy goals, and coordinated media strategy and efforts in the post-9/11 environment. In this role, she directed the efforts of a team of spokespeople, writers, event planners, media advance, speechwriters, and other key staff. During her time in this position, she personally oversaw the handling of media efforts regarding the Department’s work before the U.S. Supreme Court, the creation and launch of public service announcements and websites to promote several criminal justice initiatives, the execution of hundreds of media interviews, events, speeches, and press conferences, as well as the writing and publication of hundreds of press releases, fact sheets, white papers, and other media materials on behalf of the Department.
Monica has also served as the Deputy Director for Research and Strategic Planning for the Republican National Committee. In that role, she managed a large team engaged in legislative and political research and policy analysis, the production of many publications to promote these efforts, as well as focus group research and the development of long-term strategic initiatives.
As a lawyer who has also worked as a federal prosecutor, Monica understands the challenges faced by individuals involved in high-stakes litigation and can assist them in clearly communicating their position and the reasons behind it. In addition to her law degree, Monica has a Master’s degree in Public Policy. She lives in Virginia with her husband and three cute but unruly dogs, who mostly flunked their puppy training classes.
