At dKos: Who Is Scott J. Bloch, Special Counsel and Rove Investigator?

[understandinglife]

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This announced investigation into Karl Rove by the OCS is going to find no wrong doing as long as Bloch remains in charge. His 5-year appointment runs out at the end of Bush's term. And Bloch has his defenders. Most notably, Catholic League head, William Donahue, who alleges that Bloch is the victim of "leftist anti-Catholic bigotry," stemming from boss, Jeff Ruch's interview during which Ruch is quoted as saying, "Scott Bloch is running the shabbiest closeout sale in the history of the Whistleblower Protection Act," and "Scott Bloch is politicizing the office," and -- perhaps most damning:

...he's hired three brand new graduates from the ultra-conservative Ave Maria Law School to act as investigators and attorneys rather than, as traditionally was done, have a competitive examination so that attorneys from around the country could compete for these positions. He's not made a single hire on a competitive basis.

"Ave Maria Law School?" you ask, "Could that be just down the road from Regents University?" Theologically, perhaps, but geographically it's in Ann Arbor, Michigan -- but not for long. Ave Maria plans to relocate to southwest Florida in 2009. Read about it:

Ave Maria espouses a natural law philosophy and teaches law within the context of the Catholic intellectual (?) tradition. Politically, its student body and faculty tend to lean in a conservative direction. Ave Maria's dean and president is Bernard Dobranski and its faculty includes legal scholar Robert Bork and scholar Bruce Frohnen.

The Bush administration has so many foxes guarding so many hen houses it's more like maniacs guarding the assylums. Scott J. Bloch is just another corrupt place-holder in power.

Every branch of our government has been politicized and evangelized -- justice and the military, most notably -- by this administration with the goal to subvert American democracy and government from its former secular humanist form to a Christian and ideological theocracy. Put aside the tinfoil, folks. We've been ruled by a true conspiracy since Bush first took office. The task of dismantling and unfiltrating it will be gargantuan and may require the next Democratic president in the White House to establish a new arm of the federal government, The Office of Restoration and Rededication. It's agents, the Fumigators, will be spraying every bureacracy in Washington to rid our government of the Blochs, Gonzales', the Roves and their evil spawn. One hopes.

More at

"One hopes" .... in_deed ....

[hang a left]

1. I posted about him earlier. No one even noticed.

I am just glad the info is being disseminated here. knr

[understandinglife]

2. Give me the link and I'll include it in this thread ...

[Beetwasher]

3. This "Investigation" Is No Such Thing, It's A "Fix-It" Operation

This guys a plumber, he's finding the holes and fixing them, so any real investigation will come up w/ nothing.

[understandinglife]

5. "This guys a plumber ..." and a "painter" ...

... box car loads of duct tape and white wash just PO'd by his office ....

[understandinglife]

4. Comment at dKos: "There's an excellent article in this month's Mother Jones ...

... about Scott Bloch and the mess at OSC, and the various whistleblowers he's failed to protect (Sibyl Edmonds is the one best known around these parts). I'd link to the article, but it isn't on their website yet ... but for those wanting to get the full dirt on Bloch, it's worth shelling out for the paper 'n' glue version of Mother Jones."

by Crisitunity at http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2007/4/24/112227/576/8#c8

This dude and his minions are dangerous ...

[understandinglife]

6. And, from 2005 Mother Jones ...

Don't Whistle While You Work

(subhead: At eh Bush administration's whistleblower office, tips on murder, espionage and terrorism are processed "in the order in which they are received." But any sign of the homosexual agenda--that is priority number one.)

It's come to the point where some advocates now counsel federal employees against coming forward, period. "When people call me and ask about blowing the whistle, I always tell them, 'Don't do it, because your life will be destroyed.'" says William Weaver, a professor of political science at the University of Texas-El Paso and senior adviser to the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition. "You'll lose your career; you're probably going to lose your family if you have one; you're probably going to lose all your friends because they're associated through work; you'll wind up squandering your life savings on attorneys; and you'll come out the other end of this process working at McDonalds."
---
Weaver says that most of the people who contact him are so determined, they go ahead with their disclosures anyway. "I see what the result is," he sighs. It's destruction from one end of their lives to the other."

www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2005/11/bush_body_count.html

www.dailykos.com/comments/2007/4/24/112227/576/23#c23

swimming in a sewer would be more pleasant than walking the halls of the Bush administration ...

[Chimichurri]

7. Then all the media has to do is point to this "investigation" and

poof - Rove is cleared of all the drama he's caused. Anyone who'll try to suggest Rove's hands are dirty in any way will be shot down by the "well he's been cleared by the OSC" talking point.

No wonder CNN was all over this. Had this been a real investigation, i doubt they'd have made such a big deal about it.

[understandinglife]

9. "Had this been a real investigation, i doubt they'd have made such a big deal about it."

Yep.

:thumbsup:

[Chimichurri]

8. self-delete. double post

[understandinglife]

10. "STAFF “PURGE” AT OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL — Whistleblower Staff Claiming Retaliation Forced Moves

STAFF “PURGE” AT OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL — Whistleblower Staff Claiming Retaliation Forced Moves to New

Washington, DC — The U.S. Special Counsel, the principal protector of federal whistleblower and merit system rights, has abruptly ordered more than 20 percent of his headquarters legal and investigative staff to relocate or be fired. According to a letter of protest filed today by three national whistleblower watchdog groups, those targeted for forced moves are all career employees hired before Bloch became Special Counsel, as part of a purge to stifle dissent and re-staff the agency with handpicked loyalists.

Bloch began the second year of his five-year term by ordering 12 headquarters employees, on penalty of removal, to accept involuntary transfers to Dallas, Oakland and a newly created Detroit field office. Bloch did not ask for volunteers or consult with affected employees beforehand. The employees have been given 10 days to agree to the transfer and 60 days to move. As many of the employees have families in the area it is not known how many will leave public service rather than move.

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http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=458

Congress should be investigating Bloch ... and demanding his resignation ...


IT IS TRIBUNAL TIME IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

[Robbien]

11. We need a special prosecutor. I bet this is the RNCs answer to

our request for a special prosecutor in the attorney purge.

Why should they give us a special prosecutor when Bloch is on the case.

[understandinglife]

12. No doubt that Bloch is a gigantic block of obstructionist concrete ...

... strategically placed to stall/stop Congressional investigations.

We the People ... must demand that Bush and Cheney be impeached and all their minions expunged from our Republic. PRONTO.


Peace.

[understandinglife]

13. USA Today blog ... ;)

http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/04/since_we_first_.html

[understandinglife]

14. Steve Soto: "outfit run by a Bush political appointee who has gutted his operation already."

Tuesday :: Apr 24, 2007

A Preemptive Internal Inquiry To Control The Story

by Steve Soto

I’m not anticipating much from this, since the Office of the Special Counsel is an executive branch outfit run by a Bush political appointee who has gutted his operation already.

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The Democrats and the center-left blogosphere got a hold of a story which was only the tip of the iceberg about the overt politicization of the entire government, which threatened to reveal everything Rove has put into place over six years. The Democrats and the mainstream media haven’t yet fleshed out the full picture, but Rove knew they were headed in that direction. So presto-chango, suddenly an “inquiry” is launched by an Ashcroft alum at Justice who himself has purged the OSC of experienced staff, and the party line will be that “we can’t comment due to the ongoing investigation by the OSC.” And it is all BS. Even the Bush-friendly Washington Post editorial page says today that there is a need to get to the bottom of how involved the White House was in the sacking of these attorneys and presumably the reasons why they were sacked. Democrats need to press ahead with an independent inquiry, and subpoena the administration to construct the full story. They should also formally demand the appointment of a Special Prosecutor and force Alberto to reject such a request.

Link: http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/010222.php

[understandinglife]

15. The Agonist: "... the notion that there is someone remaining in government who is neither a ...

... Cheney/Rove appointee or a political attack dog and who cleaves to a "higher standard" is simply risible. Enough of Scott Bloch and the OSC.

Link: http://agonist.org/20070424/the_rove_hunt

So true.

[understandinglife]

16. CREW: "But as editor for The Nation David Corn noted, OSC head Scott Bloch, a presidential ...

... appointee, has been marred with scandal himself. The Washington Post reported in February that the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general has been investigating Bloch for alleged intimidation of career appointees. In May 2005, the Post reported on Bloch's refusal to enforce a discrimination ban within his office. And in April 2005, Bloch's office was accused of political bias.

CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan commented, “Having transformed OSC into a virtual black hole for legitimate complaints of retaliation, Bloch is decidedly not the right person to tackle the issues of misconduct and illegality that surround top White House officials.” Sloan continued, “There is a serious question as to whether Bloch will just provide cover for an administration that has been covering for him."

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/CREW_OSC_wrong_choice_for_Bush_0424.html

Anyone surprised ... nice try Karl ...


IT IS TRIBUNAL TIME IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

17. Bloch investigation is a planned WHITEWASH. Because the shenanigans at GSA etc. are SO WELL

DOCUMENTED the potential danger of Rove being nailed on the Hatch act is very real. They are trying to head off Leahy and Waxman at the pass. It must not happen.