“Even if it is true they didn’t commit a crime, it would be appropriate to make what they did a misdemeanor so that in the future, those who violate the Civil Service laws cannot escape unscathed,” Mr. Schumer said.

Most of the Justice Department lawyers implicated in the hiring abuses are now working in private practice at Washington law firms. They cannot be disciplined by the Justice Department because they no longer work there, but officials said they could face disciplinary action from their local bars over accusations of misconduct.

Some Democrats in Congress have suggested that the Justice Department aides at the center of the hiring scandal  including Monica M. Goodling, who was a top aide to former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, and Kyle Sampson, who was his chief of staff  should also be investigated for possible perjury to determine if their sworn statements to Congress conflicted with what actually happened.

Legal experts interviewed Tuesday agreed with Mr. Mukasey’s assessment that a violation of Civil Service law could not generally be treated as a criminal matter. However, job applicants who believe they were passed over for jobs because of their political beliefs can bring discrimination lawsuits, and several lawyers have already done so by filing claims in federal court since the inspector general’s reports came out.

Mr. Mukasey told the American Bar Association that the department would try to contact some of those passed over for jobs, including applicants for the honors program and temporary details, to see if they were interested in other positions.

But he said it would be unfair, and possibly illegal, for the department to reassign or dismiss the lawyers and other employees who were hired in part because they were seen as trusted conservatives. “Two wrongs do not make a right,” he said.

Beth Slavet, former chairwoman of the Merit Systems Protection Board in Washington, said in an interview that she believed there should be an independent review to examine all the hirings that used political considerations and put in the best applicant for each spot. “Someone needs to clean up this mess that the Justice Department created, and I don’t think what Mukasey is doing goes far enough,” Ms. Slavet said.