FBI raids special counsel's office. Bloch and 17 others subpoenaed in obstruction probe

[maddezmom]

05-07) 04:00 PDT Washington - --

Agents from the FBI and the Office of Personnel Management raided the headquarters of Special Counsel Scott Bloch on Tuesday as part of a probe into whether he obstructed justice by having his computer files erased.

Bloch was served with a subpoena to appear before a federal grand jury in Washington, and about 17 other mid- and high-level employees were served as well, according to a source who has seen the subpoenas. About 20 federal agents were seeking a broad range of records at the Office of Special Counsel headquarters, and the office's e-mail system was shut down during the search, the source added.

Agents also raided Bloch's home in Fairfax County, Va., hauling away boxes of files in unmarked cars. Agents declined to speak with a reporter, and no one answered the door of the home after the agents left.

James P. Mitchell, a spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel, said the agency is cooperating with the investigation. He said the raid began about 10:30 a.m. and continued into the afternoon.

"We really don't know what this is about," Mitchell said. "They went to Mr. Bloch's office and presented him with a subpoena and began their search. ... The subpoena is very broad, and it covers a lot of territory. We're all just standing back and watching the agents do their work."

more:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/07/MN3T10HPQE.DTL

[Eurobabe]

1. Oh goodie

:popcorn:

[bemildred]

4. Indeed.

Much better than arguing over elections.
:popcorn:

[habitual]

2. he seems to know he's in deep shit:

here's his statement:

"We are cooperating with law enforcement," he said. "We are continuing to perform our independent mission."

emphasis mine.

[maddezmom]

3. subpoenas, covering not just computers but investigative reports and files from closed cases.

http://www.federaltimes.com/index.php?S=3515202


Very broad indeed.

[midnight]

5. I wasn't sure what or who this target was affecting until I read this:

Bloch was nominated by President Bush in June 2003 to head the Office of Special Counsel, an agency responsible for protecting the rights of federal workers, ensuring that whistle-blowers are not subjected to retaliation and investigating improper political activities on government property. Now I think I have a better understanding.

[xchrom]

6. recommend -- that we watch this closely.

[maddezmom]

7. just posted this in LBN: FBI seizes Doan, Rice case files in raid of OSC chief's office

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3299531

[maddezmom]

8. Republicans call for testimony from US special counsel

Republicans in Congress today called for a subpoena to force testimony from Scott Bloch, the US special counsel whose mission is helping government whistleblowers, after law enforcement agents carried out a daylong raid on his home and office.

The FBI is probing whether Bloch, who leads the office of the special counsel (OSC), destroyed evidence relevant to a White House misconduct inquiry against him. He has been caught in a bind for a year, investigating the Bush administration for misuse of government resources while the White House was investigating him.

Republican congressman Tom Davis today urged that Bloch be forced to answer questions he has long avoided about using taxpayer money to erase his government computer.

"Democrats weren't all that crazy about Scott Bloch … but when he trained his sights on the Bush administration, they were all too willing to let him slide," Davis said in a statement.

more:http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/07/usa

[maddezmom]

9. more from NPR: The first OSC employees to appear before the grand jury are scheduled to testify next

The first OSC employees to appear before the grand jury are scheduled to testify next Tuesday.

One subpoena demanded information about Bloch's 2004 investigation into whether Rice violated the Hatch Act by using federal money to campaign for President Bush's re-election. Bloch found no wrongdoing by Rice.

Another subpoena focused on Lurita Doan, who resigned last week as head of the General Services Administration. Bloch's office had been investigating Doan. The White House asked her to resign amid accusations that she gave contracts to friends and abused her office for political purposes.

The man handling the OSC inquiry has an unusual background for a federal prosecutor: NPR has learned that James Mitzelfeld is the man who signed off on the subpoenas.

In 1994, Mitzelfeld won a Pulitzer Prize as a reporter for The Detroit News, where he uncovered spending abuses at Michigan's House Fiscal agency. Mitzelfeld went on to work in Detroit's U.S. attorney's office; he is now at the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C.

more:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90251945