Waxman: State IG blocked Iraq probes

WASHINGTON, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department Inspector General interfered in key security-related investigations to prevent Bush administration embarrassments, Democrats charged.

In a letter to Inspector General Howard Krongard, U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he had received allegations “that you interfered with on-going investigations to protect the State Department and the White House from political embarrassment.”

Waxman said the allegations came from current and former officials in the office “of varied rank, ranging from line staff to upper management” and covered all three major divisions of the inspector general’s office: investigations, audits and inspections.

“According to the officials,” Waxman wrote, “your strong affinity with State Department leadership and your partisan political ties have led you to halt investigations, censor reports and refuse to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.”

Most of the specific allegations in the 14-page letter relate to waste, fraud and abuse in procurement efforts in support of the U.S.-led war on terror.

Although the State Department has spent more than $3.6 billion on contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the letter stated, “Officials from your office told my staff that you have consistently failed to pursue allegations of wasteful spending or procurement fraud in any contract involving Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Krongard's office didn't immediately return a request for comment.