Biased? Advocacy Groups Say Official Investigating Rove is Wrong Man for the Job
WASHINGTON - Even as Special Counsel Scott J. Bloch moved forward with plans for a sweeping probe of the Bush administration, several advocacy groups complained that his ties to the administration and to conservative groups, as well as his record on gay rights and whistle-blowers, made him the wrong man for the job.”There is a serious question as to whether Bloch will just provide cover for an administration that is covering for him,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a Democratic-leaning group.
A spokesman for the Office of Special Counsel, communications director James Mitchell, waved away the complaints, saying agency staffers have already begun to form an internal task force, led in part by career staff, to probe three broad areas of activity involving the White House and senior advisor Karl Rove.
The agency will use its subpoena power if necessary, Mitchell said. It will focus on whether White House political concerns improperly intruded on the decision to fire at least one U.S. attorney; whether Rove’s office staff or others violated the Hatch Act in briefing Cabinet agency managers on political developments and Republican campaign goals; and whether the White House improperly used Republican National Committee e-mail accounts for official business.
Many of those e-mails are now missing, and Bloch has said his agency will probably join the effort to find them.
The advocacy groups charge, among other things, that Bloch initiated a policy that made it more difficult for gay employees to allege discrimination.
A whistle-blower group said Bloch had a poor record of protecting those reporting wrongdoing. And, these critics pointed out, the Office of Personnel Management is investigating alleged improper employment practices including intimidation of workers at the Special Counsel agency.
“This is a job where you don’t have a lot of friends,” Mitchell said. “You don’t make people happy when you zap them for violations or reject their whistle-blower complaints.” At Bloch’s confirmation hearing, Mitchell said, the incoming director was urged to reduce the large backlog of whistle-blower and other complaints. Bloch disposed of a great many of them - so many that an advocate for environmental whistle-blowers said they had received no satisfaction from the agency.
“He just ignored them,” said Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.
Mitchell said office procedures on whistle-blower and other cases were reviewed by a bipartisan congressional staff in 2005 that later provided a positive report.
While Bloch has alienated advocacy groups on the left, he has also lost support from White House insiders, according to one report. The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine, reported last year that Bloch was ostracized by the White House and might even be urged to step down.
Mitchell said such attacks are expected by investigators like Bloch. “He is a watchdog,” Mitchell said. “That’s what he likes to do.”
Copyright 2007 Los Angeles Times
He is a watchdog, all right, but for whom, Karl Rove and George Dubya, letting them know when those pesky Democrats get close to knowing what’s been going on?
And if he was on the verge of being asked to step down, what might he do to redeem himself in the eyes of the Bush Administration?
My thoughts precisely.
When I heard that Bloch was appointed by the Thief in Chief, I doubted immediately that this is anything but one more dodge designed to blur the truth and obfuscate the facts.
The only thing that is going to work with this bunch of criminals is impeachment, indictment and incarceration. Too bad we do not have an effective opposition party to make it happen.
This might have worked 3 years ago, but these days most Americans don’t/won’t/can’t believe anything these people say. Rove’s reputation for evil genius appears to have been overblown, these tactics are school-boyish to say the least. A conspiracy theorist might say that the thought of an investigation may have been Rove’s idea to begin with. Have some lick-spittle “investigate” on threat of his job, get the white-wash, and move on as though nothing happened.
it dont hardly matter what they all do because the resource wars are going to big story in our lives right up until the dang things run out and hopefully soon and then maybe dear old earth and ALL of its residents can get on withthe business of mending.
Will the results of the “investigation” be made public or can they bury them until some future date?
This will turn out like all else Bush, they will find some problems and then poo-poo them away! They will pacify their base and be happy with that, because they know that is all they have, and the rest of us will be call names and told that we are BAD! Better get used to it I have a feeling that they will get another attach on this country before the next election and drum up the fear so high they get their way again. People need to stop fearing the unknown and see the fear they feel now from these people, but I doubt many can nor will.
Where is Mr. Starr when you need him, he would lock himself onto Karl Rove… and nothing would help him. But of course, Clinton’s offense was so … I don’t think I find a word for it to compare the lying to the people of one of the ‘architects’ behind the scenes and pushing them into a terrible war to the personal failures of a cheating husband.
But maybe we see the deeds worthy of impeachment so differently… but sometimes it makes no sense.
This the second article I’ve read by this writer on this subject. I still don’t understand why he and others believe this will stauch legitimate investigations!