>>That's illegal. If you responded with a well-put comment to that effect, you could have perhaps guaranteed yourself the job.
>
>That would be a job you wouldn't want. Neither you nor the employer want you to take a job under a cloud like that. They'd be looking for *any* excuse to terminate you for cause and hindering you in your job performance at every turn.
>
>Hank Fay has the right take on this, you complain or file suit to help protect the *next* person. But I wouldn't be too vicious - HR people in a given industry have been known to talk back-channel between themselves...

I agree. I don't think anyone would want a job when they were not the preferred candidate and/or they were hired for any reason other than they were chosen as the desired candidate.