Scott Bloch

Congress Daily: White House Fires Scott Bloch

Kate Klonick | October 23, 2008, 4:18PM

Apparently there's more to Scott Bloch's resignation as head of U.S. Special Counsel that meets the eye. According to the National Journal's Congress Daily, Bloch was fired today in a meeting with White House officials.

From Congress Daily:

Scott Bloch, the embattled head of the U.S. Special Counsel, was fired today in a meeting with White House officials, according to several sources. Bloch is under federal investigation for possible obstruction of justice for destroying computer files sought by investigators in prior probe into whether he retaliated illegally against whistleblowers in his office. On Monday Bloch announced plans to resign on Jan. 5. OSC employees said Federal Protective Service employees barred Bloch from his office today. The agency has an all-hands meeting at 4 p.m.

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Topics: Office Of Special Counsel, Scott Bloch

U.S. Attorneys

Senators React to Report on U.S. Attorney Firings

Zachary Roth | September 29, 2008, 6:01PM

While the House is consumed by the failure to pass the bailout bill, several senators on the Judiciary Committee have had a chance to respond to the DOJ report on the U.S. attorney firings, released this morning. Here's a rundown on what some of them have said:

Judiciary chair Pat Leahy (D-VT) said in a statement: "This report might have told us even more if the investigation had not been impeded by the Bush administration's refusal to cooperate and provide documents and witnesses, just as they remain in contempt of Congress for failing to cooperate with the Judiciary Committee's investigation," Leahy said. "In this debacle as in others, the Bush administration's self-serving secrecy has shrouded many of their most controversial policies -- from torture, to investigating the causes of 9/11, to wiretapping."

Leahy also said he intended to look into former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' testimony to Congress about the firings, for evidence of possible perjury. And he warned that if President Bush chose to pardon anyone ultimately convicted of a crime in connection with the firings, such a move would be seen by the nation as an admission of wrongdoing.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking minority member on the committee told reporters that there's no indication that the White House is planning such pardons, but said he'd be quick to push back if it did.

At a press conference, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a former U.S. attorney himself, questioned the effectiveness of the investigation to be led by federal prosecutor Nora Dannehy. He said that it's unclear whether Dannehy will have the power to subpoena White House officials, and whether her probe would focus narrowly on the question of whether a crime was committed by Gonzales and his deputies, rather than being able to look at a possible cover-up by the administration. Whitehouse asserted: "There is a cover-up, and it continues."

Whitehouse also singled out Mukasey for blame, noting that the DOJ's own Office of Legal Counsel has not cooperated with the report. "If he's willing to accept a White House cover-up, if he's willing to accept the inspector general being hindered, then we, I think, should have further questions of the attorney general," Whitehouse said.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) , who received an anonymous tip in January 2007 that led to the investigation, wrote in a press release: "The Inspector General report released today confirms our worst fears, and makes it clear that this was a scandal that went to the highest levels of the Department of the Justice, and that the role of the White House was in fact prominent."

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Topics: DOJ Office Of The Inspector General, Office Of Special Counsel, U.S. Attorneys

Scott Bloch

Office Of Special Counsel Has The Same Political Problems As DOJ, Former Workers Say

Andrew Tilghman | July 31, 2008, 5:36PM

The Department of Justice has been taking a lot of heat lately for the inspector general's report detailing pervasive, illegal partisanship among upper-level officials.

But former employees from the Office of Special Counsel say they've been complaining about the exact same problems for more than three years, and the White House is blocking a public report about misconduct in that office.

We often remind you that Special Counsel Scott Bloch is under investigation by the FBI. He's accused of deleting emails -- and possibly obstructing justice -- in an investigation stemming from his employees complaining about the same kind of partisan activity outlined in Monday's report from the DOJ Inspector General.

Now that group of employees who filed that complaint back in 2005 wants the White House to publish a report about their former employer.

A lawyer for the former employees, Avi Kumin, wrote a letter today to the White House Counsel, urging for a formal, public report.

Kumin rattled off several examples of parallels between DOJ and Bloch's office.

My clients' complaint reported that OSC officials hired several career employees primarily because they attended the Christian, conservative (and at the time only provisionally accredited) Ave Maria Law School. ...

My clients reported years ago that Mr. Bloch fired them because of their perceived sexual orientation or perceived support for enforcing sexual orientation protections for federal employees. ...

My clients' compliant about OSC raised significant evidence that Mr. Bloch and his staff evaluated whistleblower and Hatch Act investigations based on partisan politics.

In theory, federal employees who feel they've faced discrimination for partisan or ideological reasons can file a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel. But it's hard to think that would get investigated impartially by an office itself accused of discriminating against people for political agendas.

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Topics: DOJ Office Of The Inspector General, Office Of Special Counsel, Scott Bloch

Scott Bloch

Special Counsel Says He Has No Plans To Resign From Office

Andrew Tilghman | July 30, 2008, 5:47PM

Yesterday we learned that Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) wrote a letter to Special Counsel Scott Bloch urging the embattled chief of the independent investigative office to step down.

Bloch's had a lot of problems lately. He's under investigation by the FBI and his top deputy quit recently complaining about "political agendas" at the office that's supposed to investigate things like misconduct related to political agendas.

Today we see that Bloch promptly fired back, sending Waxman, chairman of the House oversight committee, a terse letter saying he has no plans to resign his post until his term ends next year.

Read the letter here.

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Topics: Henry Waxman, Office Of Special Counsel, Scott Bloch

Scott Bloch

Waxman Joins Chorus Urging Special Counsel To Resign

Andrew Tilghman | July 29, 2008, 10:48AM

Special Counsel Scott Bloch is under investigation by the FBI. His own employees can't stand him. And now pressure is mounting from Capitol Hill for one of Washington's top watchdogs to step down.

House oversight committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent Bloch a letter yesterday urging him to step down from the agency charged with investigating allegations of retaliation against whistle blowers.

The mission of the agency should be the paramount consideration. It is for this reason that I have concluded that OSC would be better served with new leadership and urge you to step down as the Special Counsel. Such a move would be in the best interest of the agency and the federal employees its charged to protect.

Waxman's letter comes after Bloch's chief deputy resigned from the office citing "political agendas."

Up until now, Waxman has been uncharacteristically quiet regarding allegations of Bloch's misconduct, which includes retaliating against whistleblowers in his own office.

The committee's ranking member, Tom Davis (R-VA), called for Bloch's resignation weeks ago.

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Topics: Henry Waxman, Office Of Special Counsel, Oversight Committee, Scott Bloch

Scott Bloch

"Why Isn't The White House Letting Him Go?"

Andrew Tilghman | June 19, 2008, 10:44AM

Career officials are in open revolt over at the Office of Special Counsel.

The underlings are outraged at their boss, Scott Bloch, who is under investigation by the FBI. The one man in the Bush Administration who is supposed to investigate whistle blower complaints is himself accused of retaliating against whistle blowers.

"We're trying to deal with this by decapitation," one official told TPM. "The big question is: Why isn't the White House letting him go?"

Meanwhile, Bloch is desperately trying to improve morale.

Against the advice of career officials in the office -- some of whom have been subpoenaed in the investigation -- Bloch is convening a day-long "retreat" in Alexandria, VA, flying in officials from offices in Dallas, Oakland and Detroit, for a pep talk.

During the training session, Bloch himself will give a talk entitled: "Training on Accountability, Efficiency, OSC's Independence, and "What a Whistleblower is."

The meeting was scaled back from Bloch's original idea of a multi-day retreat out in the Shenandoah Valley.

"He brought up the idea and said, 'What does everybody think? And everybody just kind of sat there," the official said.

We'll post the agenda for next week's retreat shortly.

Late Update: One former OSC official points to the afternoon session on "E-Discovery Training" and says it's "ironic in the extreme, given the accusations of his own attempted destruction of computer files that were requested in connection with the investigation of him!"

Bloch reportedly hired Geeks on Call to erase his email files.

Late Update: Here's the agenda.

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Topics: Office Of Special Counsel, Scott Bloch