October 23, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danielle Brian, Executive Director, POGO, 202-438-8859

WHITE HOUSE OUSTS SPECIAL COUNSEL BLOCH:
FEDERAL WORKERS ARE VINDICATED
LINK

Washington, D.C. – After months of intrigue-- including hidden thumb drives, computer files destroyed, staff retaliations and firings and misfires directed at his critics -- Scott Bloch was finally forced to
resign today in a meeting with White House officials, according to several sources. He has been placed on administrative leave, effective today, until December 12, 2008, when his term ends.

Bloch had announced his own plans to leave in January in a letter he released on Monday. But this morning, federal agents from the FBI and/or Federal Protective Service were stationed at the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) while Special Counsel Scott Bloch was called to the White House meeting. Meanwhile, OSC employees were informed of an all hands meeting at four o'clock today. All requests for comments from the OSC are being referred to the White House. The President has designated William E. Reukauf, long-time OSC career civil servant currently serving as Associate Special Counsel, to be Acting Special Counsel.

According to Debra S. Katz, an attorney for former and current OSC employees and non-profit whistleblower groups, including the Project On Government Oversight, "after bringing Scott Bloch's serious
misconduct to the attention of the White House for almost four years, we are pleased that the Bush Administration has finally acted to remove this rogue Presidential appointee. Unfortunately, President
Bush's action comes far too late for OSC employees and other federal workers who have been denied a safe outlet to report fraud, waste and abuse throughout his disgraceful tenure. Bloch has allowed federal
workers to be subjected to retaliation with impunity and has done great damage to the agency's mission and the public that it was established to protect." (See "Prohibited Personnel Practices"-Editor)

In July, 2008, POGO wrote to Joshua Bolten, White House Chief of Staff, directly calling for the firing of Bloch.

Danielle Brian, Executive Director, POGO, said today, "This is a victory for federal workers. It would have been obscene for this man to be able to walk away under his own terms. He has left the agency in shambles. It will take a lot of work to repair the damage Bloch caused. It will also be necessary to fix the systemic flaws which have long hampered its effectiveness." POGO has been investigating Bloch's mismanagement of OSC since 2004.

POGO will be releasing a report soon that will point to systemic flaws that will remain at the OSC even after Bloch's departure, as well as recommending reforms.

Bloch is currently under federal investigation for possible obstruction of justice for destroying computer files sought by investigators in a prior probe into whether he retaliated illegally against whistleblowers in his office.

POGO is an independent non-profit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and honest federal government.

Congress Daily: White House Fires Scott Bloch
By Kate Klonick - October 23, 2008, 4:18PM

Apparently there's more to Scott Bloch's resignation as head of U.S. Special Counsel that meets the eye. According to the National Journal's Congress Daily, Bloch was fired today in a meeting with White House officials.

From Congress Daily:

Scott Bloch, the embattled head of the U.S. Special Counsel, was fired today in a meeting with White House officials, according to several sources. Bloch is under federal investigation for possible obstruction of justice for destroying computer files sought by investigators in prior probe into whether he retaliated illegally against whistleblowers in his office. On Monday Bloch announced plans to resign on Jan. 5. OSC employees said Federal Protective Service employees barred Bloch from his office today. The agency has an all-hands meeting at 4 p.m.

Special Counsel Bloch Resigns Under Pressure
By Carrie Johnson, Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 24, 2008; A17
LINK

Office of Special Counsel chief Scott J. Bloch resigned under pressure after meeting with White House officials yesterday, five months after the FBI raided his home and his government office as part of an ongoing obstruction of justice probe.

Bloch had refused persistent demands from lawmakers and his own employees to leave before the end of the Bush administration, writing to the president on Monday that he would fulfill his five-year term and exit in January.

Citing the Greek playwright Sophocles and defending his tenure at the office designed to protect whistleblowers, Bloch wrote that "doing the right thing can result in much criticism and controversy from every side."

Employees learned of Bloch's removal at a hastily called 4 p.m. meeting when they were instructed not to accept his phone calls and told that he no longer had access to the office. The interim chief will be William E. Reukauf, a career employee, according to a White House news release.

In recent weeks several of Bloch's top deputies have left the office, blaming untenable workplace conditions and distractions that stemmed from the criminal investigation.

The OSC is supposed to be a haven for federal whistleblowers and disgruntled employees. But the tables turned under Bloch, who previously worked at the Justice Department's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

Bloch came under fire shortly after joining the whistleblower unit in 2004. Employees claimed that he engaged in political bias and improperly handled scores of cases. By his own account, White House officials twice had asked him to resign, but he refused.

Debra S. Katz, an attorney representing OSC employees who had chafed under Bloch's leadership, said she is pleased that "the Bush administration has finally acted to remove this rogue presidential appointee."

The U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, the FBI and the inspector general at the Office of Personnel Management are examining Bloch's use of a contract company to scrub his computer hard drive, even as the inspector general investigated his treatment of employees and whistleblowers. Prosecutors declined to comment yesterday, but sources familiar with the case said no law enforcement action is imminent.

Workers Applaud Special Counsel's Return to Private Sector
By Joe Davidson, Washington Post, Wednesday, October 22, 2008; D04
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The reaction from leaders of organizations that work with federal employees to the announced resignation of Scott J. Bloch, the besieged U.S. special counsel, can be summed up in two words:

Good riddance.

"Mr. Bloch destroyed the credibility of the Office of Special Counsel," said Mark Roth, general counsel of the American Federation of Government Employees. "He committed more prohibited personnel practices in the unwarranted purge of numerous OSC (Office of Special Counsel) career staffers than he deterred.

"We look forward to Mr. Bloch returning and staying in the private sector."

Bloch resigned, effective Jan. 5, in a letter to President Bush on Monday. In it, Bloch praised his own leadership, saying the agency "has made unprecedented progress in eliminating case backlogs left by previous administrations."

The office describes its mission as "protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing." Bloch alluded only obliquely to his troubles in office, telling Bush: "As you well know, doing the right thing can result in much criticism and controversy from every side."

In Bloch's case, every side includes the FBI, which raided his home and office in May. The bureau reportedly is investigating accusations that Bloch politicized his office.

"His term has been marked by continuing controversies, including claims by his own employees that he has violated the very laws the OSC is charged with enforcing," said Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union.

In his letter, Bloch takes credit for increasing "our caseload capacity, resulting in a 400 percent increase in substantiated whistleblower disclosures and stepped up enforcement of job rights for military service members."

Yet, at least one whistleblower and an organization that works closely with them couldn't be happier to see Bloch go.

"Dedicated federal workers have been left to hang without a protector on their side," said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight. "We are not sorry to see this pathetic chapter close."

Neither is Howard Floch, a surgeon who said he was fired by the Department of Veterans Affairs after he protested to Bloch's office about "what passed for medical care" at a VA hospital in Martinsburg, W.Va.

"They certainly don't protect whistleblowers. This is well known. . . . . " Floch complained. "Anybody who becomes a whistleblower under the current system is out of his mind."

OSC spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wouldn't discuss details of Floch's case. Guglielmi said Bloch was unavailable for comment, but added that "our staff works really hard to protect the merit system."

Those representing workers in the merit system have a dramatically different view.

The special counsel's office "is supposed to be the first line of defense to protect federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, but over the last five years the OSC has ignored its statutory mission," said Richard N. Brown, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees. "Federal employees have not been getting the protection they need and deserve. Under his tenure, federal employees have had little faith in their guaranteed protections."

In defense of employees at the agency, James Mitchell, who was suddenly fired as Bloch's chief of staff just before Labor Day, said they have tried, with great frustration, to carry out its mission while "in the middle of Hurricane Scott."

Honored for Good Work

While many cheered Bloch's resignation, another group of government watchdogs were celebrated for doing good work.

More than 95 workers from the inspectors general community were honored, as the Marine Band played rousing patriotic music, during a program at the ornate Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium on Constitution Avenue.

Paul Converse, an auditor assigned to an inspector general's office in Iraq, was given a special recognition posthumously, the Sentner Award for Dedication and Courage.

Auditors are often thought of as bean counters who face no danger greater than paper cuts and terrible tedium.

But Converse was in Baghdad's Green Zone when that place of supposed safety came under fire. He died March 24.

He was remembered as a "man of integrity, diligence and compassion."

Contact Joe Davidson atfederaldiary@washpost.com.

Email comments to the article above:

My name is Douglas Kinan. I am an Officer of the Massachusetts Trial Court.

Scott J. Bloch’s low character conduct and cover up did more to damage the lives of innocent individuals, their families and the government with his manipulations, false denials and deceit than most.

As a former DoD employee, I filed a complaint with Bloch concerning verified prohibited personnel practices by the Defense Contract Management Agency’s (DCMA/DCMAE) Chief Counsel, Bruce Krasker and his former Deputy Counsel, Jerome C. Brennan, including the continuing violation of targeting, framing, prosecuting and punishing of innocent employees.

Despite clear and convincing evidence, the record establishes that Bloch directed his Complaints Examiner, Mary Monahan to reject my request to investigate. Accordingly the record shows that William Reukauf upheld the unethical and unlawful decision and also rejected my appeal.

Concerning framing innocent employees as it were happening, Krasker boasted, “We (the Legal Directorate) can do anything we want. It’s called gaming. We can deny, we can delay…dismiss. We can manipulate the system any way we want.”

Bloch also had evidence that the gatekeeper and decision maker at the DoD IG’s office, Hotline Director, Leonard Trahan, Jr., covered up, as his then Communications Director, James Mitchell inferred during one of my phone discussions with him.

Concerning two of many employees who were framed, Trahan, rationalized the framing this way: “There were two EEO cases in the District in which Mr. Kinan disagreed with the decisions made by [the Equal Employment Manager] and the [DCMDE Chief Counsel.] Instead of accepting those decisions “as reasonable people can disagree”, they became a ‘cause celebre’ for Mr. Kinan.”

But for Bloch, Monahan and Reukauf, where is this “reasonable person” who believes that framing an innocent person is okay?

Trahan, who is responsible for investigating fraud, waste and abuse should know that framing two innocent people is not “two EEO cases” - it's framing two innocent people. It’s a prohibited personnel practice and a felony.

Anyway, Trahan also stood by and watched two innocent individuals anguish for 50 - 60 months and allowed them to be stripped of their career and full pension. These two frame-ups were “secretly” settled at a taxpayer cost exceeding one million dollars.

Trahan, (Bloch, Monahan and Reukauf) are now in the process of watching another innocent employee, whistleblower Kenneth Pedeleose being framed. According to Trahan’s “sworn” testimony and official emails, it appears that Trahan is at the front of Pedeleose’s retaliation.

In his sworn statement, Trahan describes whistleblower, Pedeleose as “disruptive, disloyal and counterproductive.”

Trahan has direct knowledge of Pedeleose’s frame up, in the form of a United States Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) “Opinion and Order” dated October 24, 2007, (Docket No. AT-0752-06-0350-I-1) reversing Pedeleose’s 30-day retaliatory suspension. Trahan’s conduct is a serious contradiction to what the DoD IG represents to the government.

According to DoD estimates, Pedeleose saved the government $34 million.

In March 2008, his peers voted Pedeleose, “Outstanding Employee of the Year” for 2007.

In a conflict of interest, Trahan’s counterpart, the AIG for Policy and Oversight, James L. Pavlik, covered up by conducting a fraudulent investigation, making false official statements and issuing a fraudulent report to deceive Senator Grassley. Here is what Pavlik writes about my reporting and my thirty page affidavit: “We found that Mr. Kinan has repeatedly distorted the factual record by asserting only some of the relevant facts in order to convince others that he was wronged by the system.” Pavlik could not explain the distortions because there are none.

And Bloch, Monahan and Reukauf suppressed my affidavit.

The chief fraud investigator for the DoD and a member of the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency, Richard T. Race, also ignored my requests and covered up for his subordinates. On February 19, 2008, Race pleaded guilty to fraudulent banking transactions and on May 2, 2008, was “sentenced” in Judge Leonie Brinkema’s court.

In a March 29, 2008 AP story by Deb Riechmann, President Bush said, "Any government that presumes to represent the majority of the people must confront criminal elements or people who think they can live outside the law."

In my view, Bloch should not be allowed to use his law license to harm any more innocent citizens with his deceitful manipulations, methods and tactics.

And Monahan and Reukauf should put an end to the current, in-process frame up of Pedeleose.

Mr. Kinan can be reached at dougkinan@yahoo.com. Phone is 617-788-8300.

Sorry, I Like It Here
By Al Kamen, Washington Post, Friday, August 1, 2008; A15
LINK

Doesn't appear that Office of Special Counsel chief Scott J. Bloch, steadfast protector of government whistle-blowers and staunch guardian against political activity in the federal workplace, is going to be leaving office anytime soon.

Sure, he's had his home and office raided by FBI agents, who carted off boxes of documents and equipment. And yes, he and more than a dozen current and former OSC folks have been subpoenaed to testify in an investigation of allegations of political bias, obstruction of justice and mismanagement.

Watchdog groups have asserted that Bloch launched investigations of Justice Department and Federal Aviation Administration wrongdoing as a ploy to make it difficult for the administration to oust him. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey, speaking to reporters after the FBI raids, was asked whether that situation was "problematic."

"No," Mukasey said. "If there is probable cause to believe that somebody has committed a crime," and you get a search warrant to investigate, "then it is not problematic to investigate that person. That that person happens to be investigating or purporting to investigate" the Justice Department "is not problematic. It may be ironic or curious. It is not problematic."

Republicans, Democrats and outside watchdogs have complained that the OSC is in shambles and have long demanded Bloch's resignation. On Monday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) noted that Bloch's top deputy, James Byrne, recently quit -- and is now working for former deputy attorney general James Comey at Lockheed. Waxman added that "the mission, independence and very existence of the Office of Special Counsel are, and shall remain, at risk," and called for Bloch's departure.

Fat chance. "Thank you for your letter," Bloch wrote back yesterday. "I was appointed by the President and confirmed unanimously . . . for a five-year term. That term ends on January 5, 2009.

"As you may already be aware, the President very recently declined an invitation to dismiss me," he wrote, "at least according to news accounts. I will note your concerns and will take them under advisement as I consider the remaining few months of my term."

Pretty easy to translate that one.

Here Today. Gone Today.

Yesterday morning, all seemed to be going well for Sonia Pitt, the fomer director of homeland security for the Minnesota Department of Transportation who had been fired in November for travel improprieties and misuse of state resources. Pitt "took an unauthorized, state-paid trip to Washington, D.C., after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse" a year ago today in Minneapolis, the Associated Press reported. Even so, she had been working since May as a security specialist for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

Alas. A TSA spokeswoman said she was fired later yesterday after an "internal investigation," the wire service reported. Must have been a quick investigation.

Letting Go of a Hold

Is there a chance the Senate may yet confirm career diplomat D. Kathleen Stephens to be ambassador to South Korea? Sen. John Warner (Va.), senior Republican on the Armed Services Committee, invited her key detractor, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), to a committee hearing yesterday. Warner praised Stephens and then yielded his time so Brownback, who's not a committee member, could question her anew about her views on human rights and North Korea.

Brownback had put a hold on her nomination in April, saying he "did not get satisfactory answers" from her when they chatted privately on human rights issues. She and assistant secretary of state Christopher Hill apparently did better yesterday. Brownback lifted his hold.

Bush's Olympian Effort

Don't think President Bush is going to be goofing off next week when he goes to the Olympics in Beijing. "There will be a fair amount of diplomacy," he told Asian print reporters at a roundtable interview yesterday. "I'm going to . . . the new embassy opening in Beijing."

And he'll be meeting with President Hu Jintao, whom he found "to be a straightforward guy. I'm very comfortable in his presence, and we will talk about the kinds of issues we always talk about." (Just don't look him in the eye, like you did with that Putin fella, who was also "straightforward.")

But it won't be all work. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to mountain-bike again on the Olympic -- hopefully -- on the Olympic course, just to get some exercise."

Bush said he is disappointed he won't be there for the track and field events, but "I think we've got a chance to see the United States basketball team versus China, which ought to be an interesting event. I bet it's pretty noisy," he said, "as I understand the great Yao Ming -- who plays for my old home town, Houston, the Houston Rockets -- foot is healed." Worried about the air pollution? Nah. "I'm sure I can adjust. . . . We'll deal with it."

Better hope the wind isn't blowing strong off the Gobi Desert.

Speaking of partisan politics undermining a government agency, it took barely two days for the souvenir folks to jump on an internal Justice Department report on wrongdoing there. The report recounted the exploits of then-Justice aide Monica Goodling, guardian of political correctness in hiring department officials. Included was an Internet search string she used to insure that an applicant was a "good American."

Next thing you know, it's on T-shirts and tote bags for sale online at http://shop.cafepress.com/goodling.

See also:
U.S. Special Counsel Scott Bloch is Accused of Whistleblower Retaliation

US Office of Special Counsel is Accused of Improprieties by Public Employees For Environmental Responsibility (PEER)

Breaking the Law at The US Department of Justice