By FREDERIC FROMMER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - The head of a federal inquiry into the firings of eight U.S. attorneys claims that the Justice Department has impeded his investigation.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Michael Mukasey last week, Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch said the department has thrown up roadblocks that hindered his investigation.

Specifically, Bloch said, the department's inspector general and office of legal counsel asked him to step aside until internal Justice Department investigations are finished.

That could take months, Bloch wrote, which would effectively push his agency's role "into the very last months of the administration when there is little hope of any corrective measures or discipline possible."

The Office of Special Counsel is a small, independent federal agency with the job of protecting the rights of federal workers and ensuring that government whistle-blowers are not subject to reprisal.

Bloch also complained that his attempts to meet with White House Counsel Fred Fielding to discuss the investigation have been rebuffed. White House officials did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages seeking comment.

The firings of eight U.S. attorneys provoked a backlash in Congress last year, and lawmakers questioned whether the moves were motivated by politics. That undermined the position of Alberto Gonzales, who wound up resigning as attorney general. A ninth U.S. attorney, Todd Graves in Missouri, said he was not fired but forced to resign.

Bloch's letter was first reported Tuesday by the Los Angeles Times and MinnPost.com, an online Minnesota news site.

Bloch also complains about the investigation into the performance of Rachel Paulose, who recently stepped down as U.S. attorney for Minnesota amid complaints about her management style, to take a job with the department's Office of Legal Policy.

He referenced a letter he had sent to Mukasey on Nov. 19, the day that Paulose announced her resignation. In it Bloch concluded that "there is a substantial likelihood" that Paulose has "grossly mismanaged" the U.S. attorney's office, "and has engaged in abuses of her authority."

Bloch's agency had referred allegations about Paulose to the inspector general's office, but the officials told him by telephone in October that they had "asked around" and planned to do nothing.

Then in December, according to Bloch, Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis wrote to him to demand a retraction from Bloch's finding of a "substantial likelihood" finding. That finding was based on allegations made by John Marti, who resigned from his management post as first assistant U.S. attorney under Paulose.

Bloch bluntly asks Mukasey: "Are you requesting that I report to the president that you refuse to investigate disclosures of wrongdoing made by a career federal prosecutor, an employee of your agency?"

The department's behavior, Bloch claims, "reveals a disturbing pattern of disregard for the authority of my office."

In an e-mail, Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said, "We are reviewing the letter and will respond to Mr. Bloch as appropriate."

Mukasey testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, his first oversight hearing since becoming attorney general.

Bloch himself is under federal investigation for alleged misconduct. In 2005, a group of current and former Special Counsel employees filed a complaint against him, claiming that he retaliated against those who disagreed with his policies through intimidation and involuntary transfers. The Office of Personnel Management is investigating.