Obstruction of Justice?

Via Talk Left, we learn that Bush is trying to muck up the Abramoff investigation:

Noel Hillman has been leading the Abramoff lobbying investigation for two years. He's about to leave it because President Bush has nominated him for a federal judgeship.

The prosecutor, Noel L. Hillman, is chief of the department's public integrity division, and the move ends his involvement in an inquiry that has reached into the administration as well as the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.

....Colleagues at the Justice Department say Mr. Hillman has been involved in day-to-day management of the Abramoff investigation since it began almost two year ago. The inquiry, which initially focused on accusations that Mr. Abramoff defrauded Indian tribes out of tens of millions of dollars in lobbying fees, is being described within the department as the most important federal corruption investigation in a generation.

Democrat Senators Chuck Schumer and Ken Salazar and two Congressman say this is even more reason to appoint a special prosecutor and wrote Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a letter yesterday requesting he appoint one:

This is by no means the first time that Bush has moved prosecutors around just as they were about to pounce. In fact, Abramoff was the beneficiary of such a move back in the early days of the administration when the federal prosecutor responsible for Guam was closing in on him. Bush had the guy moved to a new job.

Digby points out that Jeb Bush just recently appointed the guy who is prosecuting Rush Limbaugh to a judgeship, slowing down or maybe stopping that prosecution.

Correction: In the post above I referred to the Mariana Islands. I should have said Guam. The post is now corrected.