Last week, Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, the former head of the Iraqi Commission on Public Integrity, testified to Congress that corruption in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government had all but "stopped" reconstruction efforts. He also said that militias funded by the government and Maliki's rivals have systematically targeted and sometimes slaughtered his investigators.

The Iraqi government's response? To label him corrupt:

The government of Iraq will sue an Iraqi judge who led the U.S.-established Commission on Public Integrity for smuggling documents, libeling the prime minister and corruption, according to a statement released Saturday by the prime minister's office.

Radhi Hamza al-Radhi, who's seeking asylum in the U.S., said he was forced to flee Iraq after trying to unearth instances of government fraud and abuse.

But the statement called Al-Radhi's accusations nothing more than "lies" that were part of a smear campaign against Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It said al-Maliki urged al-Radhi to investigate corruption allegations regardless of political, religious and ethnic backgrounds.

The prime minister's office also said al-Radhi fled the country because a cabinet committee had been formed to investigate corruption allegations against him.

Via David Corn.