Reply #56: Revelation concerns Republican Rep. Rick Renzi = "investigators faced unexpected obstacles"

[L. Coyote]

THE MORNING BRIEF by JOSEPH SCHUMAN
Investigations and Politics, Politics and Investigations
April 25, 2007 6:59 a.m.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117748263972281821.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


Scrutiny of Alberto Gonzales's Justice Department leadership may mark the most high-profile inquiry into Bush administration business, but it is just the tip of an investigatory iceberg that -- to mix metaphors -- is starting to heat up.

The latest revelation concerns Republican Rep. Rick Renzi, who temporarily stepped down from the Resources and Financial Services Committees yesterday. This follows his decision to quit the House Intelligence Committee last week in the wake of an FBI raid on his office back in Arizona. People close to the case tell The Wall Street Journal that ahead of last November's election, federal investigators faced unexpected obstacles when trying to get Justice Department approvals for search warrants and subpoenas in the corruption probe of Mr. Renzi. Those delays postponed these approvals until after the election, and the Journal says they "raise new questions about whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales or other officials may have weighed political issues in some investigations." Among the eight U.S. attorneys fired last fall was the one in Arizona overseeing the case, Paul Charlton. A Justice Department spokesman denies there was any intentional delay in the Renzi case.

..................

.........several congressional Republicans and aides snared in what The Hill notes are "widening scandals," including several who lost reelection bids when the House changed hands last fall. Today, three now-Democratically led congressional committees will look at issuing subpoenas for half a dozen senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and ex-White House chief of staff Andrew Card, the Washington Post reports: To Republicans the inquiries are a "witch hunt," to Democrats they are a "return to their constitutional role of executive-branch oversight."

.........