Watchdog says Gonzales probe stymied

WASHINGTON -- The government agency that enforces one of the principal laws aimed at keeping politics out of the civil service has accused the Justice Department of blocking its investigation into alleged politicizing of the department under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Scott Bloch, head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, wrote Attorney General Michael Mukasey last week that the department had repeatedly "impeded" his investigation by refusing to share documents and provide answers to written questions, according to a copy of Bloch's letter.

The Justice Department wants Bloch to wait until its own internal investigation is completed. A department official signaled recently that the investigation is examining the possibility of criminal charges.

But that, the regulator wrote, could take until the last months of the Bush administration, "when there is little hope of any corrective measures or discipline" being taken by his office.

Bloch's allegations show how the controversy, which mostly focused on the dismissals of nine U.S. attorneys in 2006, including Seattle's John McKay, continues to fester.

Since spring 2007, the Justice Department's inspector general and its top ethics officer have been jointly investigating the firings, along with allegations that the department, under Gonzales, allowed political considerations to factor into the hiring of career employees.