WASHINGTON  A federal watchdog agency has decided to open a new examination into political hiring practices at the Justice Department, and the department is facing the first in what could be a series of lawsuits from lawyers who say they were rejected for elite jobs because of their liberal politics.

The developments were prompted by a major report last week by the Justice Department inspector general, which concluded that department officials illegally used “political or ideological” factors in picking lawyers for nonpartisan positions.

The Office of Special Counsel, an agency that investigates political interference in the federal workplace, let the Justice Department know this week that it would be examining the issues raised in the report “to discuss what our next step should be,” said James P. Mitchell, a spokesman for the office.

The special counsel has offered to work with the department “to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted,” Mr. Mitchell said. The inspector general’s report noted that two department officials who it said were largely responsible for the abuses in 2006, Michael Elston and Esther Slater McDonald, could not face disciplinary action because both had left the department.