Former Bush Administration Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch today pleaded guilty

[mod mom]

Former Bush Administration Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch today pleaded guilty to misdemeanor contempt of Congress for withholding information regarding his use of Geeks on Call to scrub computers while he was under investigation for retaliating against employees.

Sentencing in U.S. District Court in Washington is scheduled for July 20. The Legal Times reports on one hiccup in the proceedings today:

The hearing went off without a hitch until Bloch objected to part of the prosecutor's statement of the facts. Bloch said he would be "less than truthful" if he agreed that everything in the government's proffer was factually accurate.
Bloch said he had no recollection regarding one of the four computers that Leon said had been wiped clean. Bloch and his lawyer conferred for a minute before returning to the podium. Bloch then conceded to the facts the government presented.

You can read the plea agreement here (.pdf).

Bloch's attorney said in a statement last week: "I am pleased that this unnecessary five year inquiry is over for Scott, and that it confirmed his commitment to public service, as well as the many accomplishments he achieved as United States Special Counsel. Now it is time for Scott to move forward and to pursue the best interests of his private clients with the same vigor he displayed in promoting the welfare of the citizens of the United States."

Here is the press release from the U.S. Attorney:

-snip

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/ex-bush_official_pleads_guilty_in_geeks_on_call_ca.php

Here is the press release from the U.S. Attorney:

Former Head of the United States Office of Special Counsel Pleads Guilty to Criminal Contempt of Congress
Washington, D.C. - The former head of the United States Office of Special Counsel ("OSC"), Scott J. Bloch, pled guilty today to Criminal Contempt of Congress for willfully and unlawfully withholding pertinent information from a House committee investigating his decision to have several government computers wiped, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Office of Personnel Management ("OPM") Inspector General, Patrick McFarland, and Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") Assistant Director in Charge Shawn Henry.

The plea was entered before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson, in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who scheduled sentencing for July 20, 2010. Bloch faces a maximum sentence of one-year in jail and a fine of $100,000. Bloch's likely sentencing range is 0 to 6 months in jail under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The OSC is an independent federal agency charged with safeguarding the merit-based employment system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, with an emphasis on protecting federal whistleblowers. Bloch, a presidential appointee whose title was Special Counsel, headed the OSC from 2004 through 2008.

According to the Statement of Offense, on March 4, 2008, Bloch submitted to a transcribed interview with staff members of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform ("House Oversight Committee"), which was investigating, among other things, whether and why Bloch: (i) directed the deletion of emails or files on any of Bloch's OSC-issued computers in December of 2006 by using the computer repair service Geeks On Call; (ii) directed that Geeks On Call delete emails or files contained on the computers of two of his OSC aides; and (iii) directed that any such deletion of computer files be done by use of a "seven-level wipe" process. This duly empowered Congressional inquiry came after various media reports that Bloch had directed the deletion of files on several OSC-issued computers by enlisting Geeks On Call to perform a "seven-level wipe" on them.

The Statement of Offense describes five separate exchanges during Bloch's March 4, 2008 interview with staff members of the House Oversight Committee during which Bloch unlawfully and willfully withheld pertinent information from the Committee. Bloch admitted in Court today that he refused and failed to state fully and completely the nature and extent of his instructions that Geeks On Call perform "seven level wipes" on his OSC computers as well as the two OSC-issued computers of two non-career OSC staff members in December of 2006.

In announcing today's guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Machen, Inspector General McFarland, and Assistant Director in Charge Henry, praised the outstanding work of the investigative agents involved in this matter, especially Special Agent Marc R. Diehl and Andrew Smallman of the FBI, as well as Jill P. Maroney, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, and J. David Cope, Assistant Inspector General for Legal Affairs of OPM. They also acknowledged the hard work of paralegal specialists Diane Hayes and Mary Treanor, legal assistant Jamasee Lucas, former legal assistant April Peeler, Supervisory IT Specialist, Joe Calvarese, Assistant United States Attorneys Laurel Loomis Rimon, Dan Butler, James Mitzelfeld, and Glenn S. Leon, who is prosecuting the case.

HE DESERVES A STIFFER SENTENCE-IMHO. :mad:

[gratuitous]

1. Bloch's lawyer called this "unnecessary"?

Uh, when your client pleads guilty, it means the investigation was necessary. Because, see, he broke the law. That's why he's pleading guilty. But I'm so glad "Scott" will now be able to move forward. After a little time spent as a guest of the government. I hope.

But destroying evidence is probably a preferable crime to having to face prosecution for what that evidence might have shown, right Mr. Bloch?

[mod mom]

2. He was responsible for protecting the rights of fed workers & whistleblowers:

Scott Bloch, Bush-Era Head Of Whistleblower Protection, Charged With Criminal Contempt Of Congress

-snip

During the Bush administration, Bloch headed the federal agency responsible for protecting the rights of federal workers and ensuring that government whistle-blowers are not subjected to reprisals.

Bloch came under heavy criticism shortly after taking office in 2004, in part for closing hundreds of whistle-blower cases allegedly without investigating them.

In 2008, the FBI raided Bloch's office and home amid allegations that he destroyed evidence and potentially lied to Congress during an Office of Personnel Management investigation of his conduct.

-snip

An attorney representing nonprofit organizations supporting whistle-blowers said she was outraged by prosecutors charging Bloch with only a single misdemeanor.

"After five years of obstructing this investigation, destroying evidence and retaliating against his own conscientious employees, he is now going to be permitted to plead guilty to one misdemeanor; that's not sufficient," said attorney Debra S. Katz, who also represents employees in Bloch's former office. One positive development, said Katz, is that "we expect the inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management – which has been investigating this for five years – will now be in a position to issue its investigative report on Scott Bloch's misconduct."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/22/scott-bloch-bushera-head-_n_548489.html

NO justice!

[Soylent Brice]

3. K&R

[quiet.american]

4. Only in GOP-land, can a plea deal confirm one's "commitment to public service." w.t.f.? nt

[Jim Lane]

5. Thanks for posting this! I've added the info to Bloch's bio in Wikipedia.

I wouldn't have heard about it without your post, but now it's included in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bloch for maximum visibility.

[mod mom]

6. Thanks for doing that. With so much clusterfuck going on stuff like this slips through the crevices

:hi:

[Jim Lane]

7. Absolutely. That's why I love taking stuff I learn on DU and adding it to Wikipedia.

The Wikipedia article is almost always very high on the list of Google hits for a person or other subject. If you can rescue something from the crevices and get it into Wikipedia, a lot more people will see it.

[spanone]

8. inch by inch, row by row...