Another distressing development

Led by the redoubtable Henry Waxman, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has opened an investigation of the State Department's Inspector General, Howard Krongard. Krongard has been charged with halting investigations, censor reports and refuse to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, all to serve political ends.

If these charges are true--and they are reported to come from a number of people who worked for Krongard--they would represent a serious breach in one of the last defenses against the Bush administration's unbridled partisanship. The inspectors general in cabinet departments have, until now, seemed to retain a sense of professionalism and, as a consequence, have issued a number of embarrassing reports exposing a number of administration misdeeds. The idea that the offices supposed to guard against incompetence and corruption have been turned into political shops demonstrates how deep is the rot that has infected the institutions that were the proudest ornaments of our government.