Editorial: Politics over truth

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007 | 7:03 a.m.

A congressional panel is investigating allegations that the State Department's inspector general has been quashing investigations and covering up embarrassing information to protect the Bush administration.

The allegations, made by current and former State Department investigators, are serious because, by law, inspectors general are supposed to be the independent watchdogs of federal government. Congress should fully investigate the allegations to ensure the integrity of the office.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard's political ties have led him to "halt investigations, censor reports and refuse to cooperate with law enforcement agencies."

Krongard allegedly stopped fraud investigations in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as a probe into security lapses at the new U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. Waxman also said Krongard stopped staff members from helping federal prosecutors investigate alleged wrongdoing by Blackwater USA, a private security agency retained by the State Department.

Ralph McNamara, who oversaw investigations under Krongard, told the Associated Press he came forward because he was concerned that State Department employees would be at risk in the embassy.

"A rocket - an unexploded munition - went through a portion of a cement ceiling there, and it was supposed to be an area able to withstand a direct hit from a missile that did explode," McNamara said.

He said staff members were blocked from investigating the building of the embassy. A former supervisor said investigators thought they could take on only "penny-ante" cases. Waxman said he had been told that Krongard censored reports and audits to remove information critical of the State Department.

Inspectors general are presidential appointees . But politics, by law, is not supposed to play a role in their offices or their appointments. If true, these allegations, denied by Krongard, would undercut the stellar reputation previously enjoyed by inspectors general for their integrity and independence. It also would be another unfortunate sign of how the Bush administration has tainted the nonpartisan functions of government with politics and tried to duck accountability.