FBI Raids Special Counsel Bloch's Offices and Home

By Jeralyn, Section Corruption Cases
Posted on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:34:20 PM EST
Tags: bloch (all tags)

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The FBI has been busy today executing search warrants at the Offices of Special Counsel and the home of its chief, Special Counsel Scott Bloch. NPR has more here.

The OSC oversees protection for whistleblowers. He's been under investigation for two years. More below.

Bloch, who has also been under investigation for allegedly retaliating against career employees and obstructing an investigation, was being questioned at his Washington, D.C. office on Tuesday morning, according to the NPR sources.

In OSC offices across the country, email access was shut down late Tuesday morning. Six FBI agents arrived at the Washington field office before noon. Within an hour, the number had grown to 20.

The FBI agents seized several computers, including the one belonging to Bloch. Separately, other agents searched Bloch's home and a grand jury in Washington issued subpoenas for several OSC employees.

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FBI Raids Special Counsel Bloch's Offices and Home | 34 comments (34 topical)

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He was looking at Rove, and Rove's (5.00 / 2) (#5)
by scribe on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:58:26 PM EST

involvement (through intermediaries) in using the federal government to further political prospects of Republicans up for election.

Let's say Mr. Bloch wasn't exactly the most popular Bushie around the White House.

Kinda puts that whole Lurita Doan firing from about a week ago, in a whole different light, doesn't it?

: Yep, the Bushies were mad at him (none / 0) (#8)
by shoephone on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:01:54 PM EST

for starting the April 2007 investigation into Rove's missing emails and the charges that the White House was politicizing appointments.
Veddy veddy interesting! There's more to this story than meets the eye.

[ Parent ]
: Subterfuge (none / 0) (#27)
by squeaky on Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:31:07 PM EST

Mr. Bloch's critics quickly accused him of announcing an inquiry into the Rove-inspired briefings simply to draw attention away from his own shortcomings. At the time, he was the target of a complaint filed by a group of employees who accused him of trying to dismantle his own agency, of illegally barring employees from talking to journalists and of reducing a backlog of whistle-blower complaints by simply discarding old cases.
Mr. Bloch was nominated for his post by President Bush on June 26, 2003.
NYT
The DOJ and WH may also want to 'recover' some files.

[ Parent ]

So why can't the FBI do this to say (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by po on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:01:21 PM EST

Cheney's office and home? I'm relatively certain that what's been published in various "respectable" newspapers provides sufficient probable cause for a warrant to issue based on any number of potential crimes. Just wondering . . .

: Because they have to have a warrant.. (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by FlaDemFem on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:07:34 PM EST

at least they had better have one to search Cheney's house and office. What Federal judge would have the balls to sign it??

[ Parent ]
: Oh, they have tried (none / 0) (#10)
by Kathy on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:05:11 PM EST

but Cheney opens the door with his evil eyes and they all flee.

[ Parent ]

Would someone tell me... (5.00 / 3) (#13)
by p lukasiak on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:08:23 PM EST

would someone tell me what my opinion of this is supposed to be?

Because I'm totally confused -- who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys?

In short (none / 0) (#16)
by Steve M on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:14:01 PM EST

Bloch is a bad guy.

[ Parent ]

: Yep (none / 0) (#19)
by BDB on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:22:48 PM EST

You want to know what happened after all those Hatch Act violations came out? Nothing. Want to know why? Bloch, whose office is supposed to protect federal employees and instead has been trying to help hunt federal employees.
It's like putting a lion in charge of security for baby gazelles.

[ Parent ]

Love and share (none / 0) (#17)
by Stellaaa on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:14:10 PM EST

the desperate tone. Who are the good guys?

[ Parent ]

There are good guys? (none / 0) (#20)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:25:05 PM EST

As far as I'm concerned if you work in Washington DC and Uncle Sam signs your paycheck odds are you are one of the bad guys:)

Postal service, Sanitation, Fire and other civil servants who actually provide a service excluded of course:)

[ Parent ]

That's the mirror image of Beltway thinking (none / 0) (#23)
by Joelarama on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:35:26 PM EST

about the rest of America.

Both are rather narrow.

[ Parent ]

Wait a minute.... (none / 0) (#25)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:41:37 PM EST

the welfare queens on the beltway think the people they are looting are the bad guys?

That's not narrow thinking...that's downright deranged!

[ Parent ]

Food and drug inspectors and regulators, (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by Joelarama on Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:03:55 PM EST

patent officers, civil rights lawyers, small business loan officers, military service members, bank regulators, consumer protection at the FTC and the CPSC, the EPA . . .

You might want to save your right-wing terms ("welfare queens") for Bush's political appointees who are trying to undermine the good things many government bureaucrats are trying to do.

And you might use a term with less racial overtones than "welfare queen" to describe residents of majority African-American Washington.

[ Parent ]

Oh boy.... (none / 0) (#28)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 03:40:13 PM EST

I thought I was doing a good thing throwing the "welfare queen" term back at those who deserve it....Bush, his appointments, and a crooked Congress. They're the real welfare queens, along with their corporate cronies looting the treasury with their blessing.

The FDA?...those arseholes are complicit in the drug war...look at how they've got marijuana scheduled.

The EPA?...from what I can tell they protect polluters, not the enviroment.

I see you left out the CIA, FBI, DEA, ATF, ICE, NSA and all the tyranny agencies. Kinda sums up why I'm so anti-government, for every good thing you gotta swallow ten bad things.

[ Parent ]

kdog the Right winger!!!! (none / 0) (#29)
by jimakaPPJ on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:17:34 PM EST

Sorry, I just couldn't stop laffing..

Hope all is well...

ppj

[ Parent ]

Yeah buddy.... (none / 0) (#31)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:58:04 PM EST

I've been getting that alot lately...the newbies haven't figured me out yet. It's cool, neither have I:)

Hope all is well on your end...good luck with the garden this year.

And to stay on topic, lets hope no mercenaries bash down our home or office doors:)

[ Parent ]

: Heh (none / 0) (#33)
by jimakaPPJ on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:04:03 PM EST

Global cooling has zapped my garden this spring, weeks late...
And I don't think you gotta worry about somebody trying to arrest you for dope.... now, if you were smoking a cigarette in a no smoking bar... look out

[ Parent ]

Couple of questions. (5.00 / 1) (#14)
by wurman on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:09:10 PM EST

Does anyone know if . . .

a. The justice dept./AG issued there own subpoenas

b. Did the FBI get a warrant or subpoenas from a judge at some level?

Last time I checked (none / 0) (#30)
by jimakaPPJ on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:20:22 PM EST

only a judge can issue a search warrant or a subpoena...

Could be wrong...but don't think so.

[ Parent ]

These days... (none / 0) (#32)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:59:53 PM EST

ya never know Jim, ya never know.

Warrant? We don't need no stinkin' warrant.

[ Parent ]

The 2 stories I read are ambiguous. (none / 0) (#34)
by wurman on Tue May 06, 2008 at 08:50:13 PM EST

Washington Post describes them as subpoenas from the Department. Carpetbagger states that DoJ went to a DC grand jury & got the subpoenas.

These are not like a magistrate's search warrant, which was the nature of my leading question.

This is a change from somewhere in time that seems incredible to me; i.e., the AG can go to a grand jury & get subpoenas that allow or permit or authorize search & seizure.

Sort of a free pass for FBI breaking & entering while serving a summons to appear.

Looks very much like the bottom of that slippery slope.

[ Parent ]

: I still think (none / 0) (#35)
by jimakaPPJ on Fri May 09, 2008 at 02:03:14 PM EST

a judge issued them...

[ Parent ]

Fascinating. (none / 0) (#1)
by Fabian on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:51:13 PM EST

Any guesses, or are we all equally in the dark here?

GET THOSE EMAILS!

My question also (none / 0) (#2)
by waldenpond on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:54:33 PM EST

I actually put this in the open thread asking if anyone was aware of the ongoing investigation.

Geek squad..... I wonder if they tried to pay them in cash instead of through regular channels.

[ Parent ]

: I wonder if the Geek Squad (4.00 / 1) (#9)
by FlaDemFem on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:04:07 PM EST

made copies of the original files. If they had a clue as to what was going on, evidence being deleted, and if they were allowed to work unsupervised, then there is a good chance there are copies of those files in some geek's CD drawer. If I were the FBI, I would check there too. Just in case.

[ Parent ]

If I recall (none / 0) (#3)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:55:17 PM EST

he was one of Bush's "I hate the mission of the department I oversee" kinds of people...as in he was supposed to be protecting whistleblowers while doing the opposite.

If I'm right, I hope this raid finds something gia-normous.

Good (none / 0) (#4)
by BDB on Tue May 06, 2008 at 01:56:41 PM EST

I predict this may be the one area where there is some accountability. The Bush Administration has waged a war against civil service employees for seven years. There's going to be a strong desire by a lot of us to hold them accountable for that. And since we staff places like the FBI and US Attorney's Offices that should help ensure these investigations continue.

Judging by our law enforcement priorities... (none / 0) (#6)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:01:05 PM EST

it probably stems from a prostitution investigation....j/k, kinda:)

I don't think the FBI gives a damn about protecting whistleblowers.

Two Doan. . . (none / 0) (#11)
by LarryInNYC on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:05:45 PM EST

He was wrapped up in the politicization of the federal bureaucracy along with Lurita (sp?) Doan who was just pink-slipped last week.

Wow (none / 0) (#15)
by Steve M on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:13:35 PM EST

This is really big. That's one department that definitely should never have been corrupted.

out of curiousity, (5.00 / 1) (#18)
by cpinva on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:19:19 PM EST

That's one department that definitely should never have been corrupted.

is there one that should have been corrupted? :)

[ Parent ]

: Is there one that hasn't been corrupted?...n/t (5.00 / 1) (#21)
by kdog on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:26:00 PM EST

[ Parent ]
: Well (none / 0) (#22)
by Steve M on Tue May 06, 2008 at 02:26:00 PM EST

Of course not, but I mean, there's HUD, and then there's the Department of Justice...

[ Parent ]