Another Bushie goin’ down

Yet another official in the Bush-Cheney regime is facing a criminal investigation for alleged wrongdoing as an Administration official. America’s NPR reported that the FBI raided the office and home of Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch. Bloch runs the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which investigates complaints of discrimination within the government.

Appointed by Bush in 2004, Bloch immediately caused a stir when his first official act was to refuse to investigate any claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation. When word of that leaked out, Block reportedly blamed the career staff (in other words, professionals who are not political appointees). He allegedly retaliated by creating a field office in Detroit, Michigan, and telling his suspects that they were being transferred there or they could resign. This is a violation of the Hatch Act.

The Inspector General started investigating, and Block called in a service to purge the office computers, he says because they were filled with viruses. This is a prima facie case of impeding a federal investigation and obstruction of justice.

The FBI shut down the email system of the OSC and seized computers and they interviewed Block himself. A grand jury has issued subpoenas to staff members, indicating that a criminal investigation is underway.

The surprising thing here isn’t that another Bush-Cheney official may be heading to prison, but that more haven’t yet faced criminal investigation and charges. If justice truly prevails, we’ll be seeing criminal charges laid for many years to come.