The partner of late internet freedom activist Aaron Swartz has accused the US Department of Justice of “dragging its heels” over an investigation into his prosecution after it emerged that his political beliefs played a role in its case against him.

Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman said she was “angry and really upset” when she learned from congressional staffers from the government oversight committee that a document written by Swartz five years ago was a key element in his prosecution.

“I was surprised that the Department of Justice would be so bold, that their motivation was so political,” Stinebrickner-Kauffman said. “That it wasn’t just one prosecutor run amok, that it was about Aaron’s political views.”

Speaking to the Guardian from Sydney, Australia, where she is on compassionate leave from her job as executive director of corporate watchdog, SumOfUs, Stinebrickner-Kauffman said she learned of the document’s role in the prosecution after a friend posted the story, first reported by the Huffington Post, on Facebook.

The news made her more angry than she had been since Swartz died, she said. “This is not the Department of Justice, it’s the Department of Vengeance. If you look at the Department of Justice they are not interested in admitting their mistakes, they are interested in covering their asses.”

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