So many investigations

THANKS TO Democratic control of Congress and its own ineptitude (or worse), the Bush administration is under investigation on so many fronts that you can’t tell the sleuths without a scorecard. But not all scandals are created equal.

The weightiest investigations are the ones being conducted by two Justice Department agencies -- the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of the Inspector General -- into the controversial firings of eight U.S. attorneys. If Inspector Gen. Glenn A. Fine, who demonstrated his independence with a report to Congress about the FBI’s misuse of national security letters to obtain bank and phone records, finds fault with Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, it’s hard to see how Gonzales could cling to office.

Somewhat down the scale we find the hitherto obscure Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch, who is investigating both the firing of U.S. Atty. David C. Iglesias and allegations that the administrator of the General Services Administration once asked how the agency could “help our candidates” for Congress after GSA political employees were briefed by an aide to Karl Rove. While Bloch’s operation doesn’t have the stature of the Justice Department offices, any finding by the special counsel that the administration violated the law would be embarrassing.

It’s Congress, however, not any in-house investigator, that worries the administration most. After years of lax oversight by Republicans, Democrats are relishing their role as inquisitors, whether on the war in Iraq, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center or Army Ranger Pat Tillman’s suspiciously portrayed death.

Because Democrats have an obvious vested interest in embarrassing the administration, they would be wise both to pick their fights and to share their battle plans with like-minded Republicans.

To an impressive extent, that is what happened at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings on the U.S. attorney firings. Gonzales was put on the defensive not only by Democrats but by Republicans such as Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

It’s not surprising that the U.S. attorney affair has provoked bipartisan criticism from Congress. At best, the dismissals were handled in a slapdash way and with unprecedented meddling from the White House. At worst, there was possibly obstruction of justice.

Allegations that the administration violated the 1939 Hatch Act by making a political pitch to political appointees, on the other hand, don’t rise to the same level.

Entranced as Democrats may be by visions of Rove in the dock, too many inquisitions into minor affairs may prove to be counterproductive.