Think Progress

White House investigator accused of deleting files.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch, who is “investigating Karl Rove’s White House political operation,” is facing allegations from the White House “that he improperly deleted computer files during another probe, using a private computer-help company, Geeks on Call.” Currently, the White House is also “looking into claims that Mr. Bloch improperly retaliated against employees and dismissed whistleblower cases without adequate examination.”



38 Responses to “White House investigator accused of deleting files.”

  1. imorgan82 says:

    Uh…. The White House uses Geeks on Call? Wow. National Security trusted to some D-bag that graduated from community college. This is like an episode of that awful NBC show “Chuck”


  2. Badmoodman says:

    There must be a White House in Bizarro World too. Am I missing something here?


  3. Menehune says:

    I guess all his “investigations” gave him some really good ideas. But really, Scott–the Geek Squad? C’mon–at least make the snark writers work for it a bit.


  4. Leftside Annie says:

    Oh. I’m dead sure that anyone caught deleting files will be fired immediately.
    .
    .
    .
    Yeah, right. And I’m the Pope.


  5. Zimzone says:

    Am I getting this straight?…

    The guy investigating KKKarl’s lost e-mails is being investigated himself?

    Bloch deleted some of the e-mails himself? Jesus H. Christ on a Cracker, where do they find these guys? They must have some kind of incompetence and Party allegiance test that only deals with rumors, loyalty and misplaced values.


  6. boreas says:

    Interesting. My guess is the fact that the White House is “investigating” this means that someone else was about to do it. You know, really investigate it. This way the WH can refuse to make any sort of disclosure to a non-captive investigating body. They’ll claim that to do so would “compromise an ongoing investigation”.


  7. po says:

    Interesting. The WH is investigating the investigator. Strange and unusual for this crew. I mean, they put him in place. Ah, but he is charged with investigating Rove. And emails, bribery and political appointees, isn’t that what Abramoff and, perhaps ‘run to the corner” Rove were involved in?


  8. DieNowForPeace says:

    Uh, newsflash, unless the hard drive was reformatted OR the data re-written over, IT’S RECOVERABLE.


  9. boreas says:

    Comment by Zimzone: “Bloch deleted some of the e-mails himself? Jesus H. Christ on a Cracker, where do they find these guys? They must have some kind of incompetence and Party allegiance test that only deals with rumors, loyalty and misplaced values.”

    It’s the sort of incompetence that arises from arrogance. All these Bushies think and act as if they’re a law unto themselves. So far the Democratic Congress has done precious little to disabuse them of that notion.


  10. PatrioticLiberalChristian says:

    This smells like a Libby: put in place an investigator to find incriminating information which he can destroy, charge him, and pardon him. Mission Accomplished.


  11. boreas says:

    Comment by DieNowForPeace: “Uh, newsflash, unless the hard drive was reformatted OR the data re-written over, IT’S RECOVERABLE.”

    True. That’s probably why he used Geeks On Call. HE would have known that just hitting “Delete” wouldn’t get the job done. Unless the Geek surreptitiously copied the data it’s probably gone forever.


  12. Vet says:

    Looks to me like they found a fall guy for the e-mail scandal.


  13. SkepticRising says:

    Or, an investigator is finding stuff you don’t want, so you charge him with things that will eventually be disproven, but in the meantime the investigation stops, his credibility is destroyed and the original investigation never gets back on track. I know that sounds rather Byzantine, but can you say Dan Rather?



  14. Tawdry says:

    So an investigator is investigating the investigator. Looks like one of those pictures within a picture going on ad infinitum, but in reality only til January 2009.


  15. raynman says:

    Geeks on Call

    Just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, something comes along and kicks out the supports…..


  16. Vet says:

    Looks to me like they found a fall guy for the e-mail scandal.

    Comment by Vet — November 28, 2007 @ 11:39 am
    —————————-
    Or…maybe I read the post wrong at first and look like an idiot…


  17. nolo says:

    two additional notes — in response to
    comments 11, et seq. — one: geeks on call
    used something like window washer — i.e.,
    randomized seven times overwritten — the
    department of defense standard. . . so the
    drive itself is probably nrecoverable.

    two: fascinatingly, though, the wall street journal
    indicates that scott bloch actually had the geek
    on call tech copy all his documents to a flash
    drive (a cruzer or similar) — but bloch, thus far,
    has refused to deliver the flash drive back-up
    to white house investigators. . . honestly,
    this smells like bloch was really getting some-
    where on charging rove with hatch act violations.

    but rove has resigned — so he is no longer subject
    to bloch’s jurisdiction — that prosecution is now left
    to one newly minted AG michael mukasey. . .

    y a w n.


  18. VerbalKint says:

    This smells like a Libby: put in place an investigator to find incriminating information which he can destroy, charge him, and pardon him. Mission Accomplished.

    Comment by PatrioticLiberalChristian — November 28, 2007 @ 11:35 am

    Yup.


  19. missmolly says:

    Can you just see the internal memo being sent out to all Geeks on Call employees over this?

    “Effective immediately, you are not permitted to destroy any computer files on White House computers, no matter how much the client insists you do so…”


  20. Buckie Boy says:

    Sounds like more coverups and misdirection.

    Bush/Cheney
    Hague Trials ‘09

    Buck Fush


  21. The Republic of Stupidity says:

    which has apparantly led some of the posters above to assume that Mr. Bloch works for or at the pleasure of the President. He does not. The President could not fire him if he wanted to.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — November 28, 2007 @ 12:20 pm

    And your comment is intentionally ambiguous. The posters above did not assume that. Bush did nominate Mr Bloch for his current postion.

    The Honorable Scott J. Bloch
    Special Counsel

    On June 26, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Scott J. Bloch for the position of Special Counsel at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. Bloch on December 9, 2003. On January 5, 2004, he was sworn in to serve a five-year term.

    This is straight from the Office Of Special Counsel’s website, BTW.

    Bush may not be able to fire the guy, but he most certainly has MAJOR say in who gets the job.


  22. The Republic of Stupidity says:

    He has a fixed five-year term and may be removed only for malfeasance.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — November 28, 2007 @ 12:37 pm

    Yes, and Mr Bloch was Bush’s CHOICE for the job. Gee, ya think Georgie would pick someone who might actually challenge him? NOT!!!


  23. StratRat says:

    The President could not fire him if he wanted to.

    Comment by cold_hard_left

    Since when does your king follow ANY law or policy? He said he was the decider, didn’t he?


  24. drtichy says:

    The WH investigating something???
    This is a bizzare behavior….

    Well, even so, nothing will happen anyway. And, there is always a pardon for criminals at the end of the day.

    All BUSH-IT again!!!


  25. Zimzone says:

    WH e-mails may be leaked, but Bush is taking a leak on the Constitution.


  26. jpoke42 says:

    “Mr. Bloch was a loyal member of the Bush administration, serving in the Justice Department’s office of faith-based programs, when the president named him to head the Office of Special Counsel in 2003″

    I encourage everyone to read the full article from the WSJ – its even funnier than TP’s synopsis.

    This entire administration is outside the law and NO ONE is going to do anything about it. I just hope that there is enough left in 50 years when we actually have the will to investigate.

    Bush/Cheney ‘09 at the Hague? I wish!


  27. Keith H. says:

    It’s just SOP for the current GOP.

    If manipulating intelligence and repeatedly flat out lying to get
    support for their war of choice is not enough to impeach and
    imprison these ba$tards you can forget about anything
    touching them.

    Unless of course a gutsy citizen . . . .


  28. Veritas says:

    Violation of the presidential records act might mean a prison term.


  29. Veritas says:

    They’ve all been doing it and it’s time for each of them to be prosecuted for violating the law. Now watch the ‘mass exodus’ from this White House!!


  30. Veritas says:

    Keith H: They know that no one in Congress has the balls to stand up to them. They also know that everyone in Congress has “dirt” which they’ve unearthed in their illegal wiretapping.

    Why do you think they illegally wiretapped individuals for whom a “warrant” would probably be denied?? Three guesses and the first two don’t count.


  31. Veritas says:

    The incredible “stain” on the GOP with everything that Bush Co. has done over the past 7 years will put the white house for Republicans totally out of reach for a very, very long time.


  32. StratRat says:

    The incredible “stain” on the GOP with everything that Bush Co. has done over the past 7 years will put the white house for Republicans totally out of reach for a very, very long time.

    Comment by Veritas

    This is the one thought I consider when my anger for this administration grows to a fever pitch. It is the last refuge my brain can go to when I need to ‘chill out’ after visiting the daily blogs.

    Thanks for reminding me that there is hope, after all.


  33. IMPEACH NOW says:

    Look up Odigo, Foxcom, Converse and Amdocs to see the extent of Israeli ownership of the telecom mechanisms to spy on America. Israel was allowed to install the phone system in Congress.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Pollard

    BTW: remember Jonathan Pollard and Bill Clinton’s best buddy Marc Rich

    fox news israeli spying documentary
    Ask Fox News: How extensive is Israeli spying in America?

    Watch these Carl Cameron documentaries

    Fox Documentary Part I “Zoom Copters”
    Fox Documentary Part II “Infliltration of Phone System”
    Fox Documentary Part III “Comverse Inc … Israeli wiretapping”
    Fox Documentary Part IV “200 Israelis Arrested…drug ring busted…Amdocs”

    Israeli Co Is New Pentagon Computer Security Supplier!

    The Israeli company for computer security Check Points has been appointed as the official supplier to the American Ministry of Defense. In particular, the company will supply American Federal agencies with a protection system for data stored on laptop computers.

    This footage has been removed from the Fox News website.

    But you can find the short broadcasts on links at http://www.YellowCakeWalk.net


  34. theswan says:

    Maybe this whitehouse and all further whitehouses should be required to use “paper only”. When they can’t be trusted with electronic age toys they should be restricted to their old sand box.


  35. Keith H. says:

    Why do you think they illegally wiretapped individuals for whom a “warrant” would probably be denied?? Three guesses and the first two don’t count.

    Comment by Veritas — November 28, 2007 @ 1:11 pm

    I have had those thoughts too but ended up thinking that it had
    to be something outrageous that basically no members of Congress
    as a whole, wanted to come out in the open.
    Maybe information that would be uncovered in say . . a real
    investigation into 911. I mean, that may sound a little far fetched
    but I have a hard time believing that congress was just ‘faked-out’
    by the mis-information and lies before voting for military action in
    Iraq.


  36. Lefty Patriot says:

    The President could not fire him if he wanted to.

    Comment by cold_hard_left — November 28, 2007 @ 12:20 pm

    That’s it? That’s all y8ou have? Treason in the White House, and you excuse it this weakly? Are you a citizen of Saudi Arabia, or another of our enemies?


  37. Marie says:

    This story of convoluted corruption is analagous to the entire administration.



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