Special Counsel Claims DOJ Obstructing US Attorney Firings Probe

US Office of Special Counsel head Scott Bloch last week sent a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey complaining that the DOJ is impeding his office’s investigation into the firings of eight US Attorneys. The independent agency headed by Bloch has the responsibility of enforcing protection of federal civil service employees from politicization. Bloch claims that he has repeatedly been refused access to documents and other evidence and that DOJ officials want him to delay his investigation until their own internal investigation is finished — which Bloch said could push his time frame to the end of the administration “when there is little hope of any corrective measures or discipline possible.” Richard Schmitt and Tom Hamburger’s LA Times story is here; AP here.