Washington, DC) - Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. expressed concern about recent revelations regarding the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) by James Byrne, who resigned as the agency’s Deputy over his concerns regarding its independence. Chairman Conyers hopes to talk to Mr. Byrne in the coming days.

In 2004 and 2005, Chairman Conyers wrote to OSC chief Scott Bloch asking him to investigate allegations of improper partisan activity by then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. The OSC found no violation in that case. Subsequent allegations surfaced that Mr. Bloch had acted improperly in his handling of this matter. (correspondence linked here). More recently, Mr. Bloch has also reportedly denied requests by career OSC employees to open probes into allegations of politically selective prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys, including those of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and voter registration activists in Missouri.

"I have had long standing concerns about the Office of Special Counsel and whether partisanship has influenced the outcome of investigations,” Conyers said. “Mr. Byrne's letter bolsters those concerns. I hope to talk with him in the very near future."