Hoo Boy

Not sure if this is Karl Rove’s and Rachel Paulose’s revenge, or a legitimate bust of guy abusing his Hatch Act oversight authority — or Rove taking advantage of a legitimate investigation to take out a threat to Rove. The FBI raid on OSC chief Scott Bloch’s DC offices is still big news:

The Inspector General for the Office of Personnel Management has been investigating Bloch for more than two years. He allegedly retaliated against career employees and obstructed an investigation.

He also admitted hiring the company “Geeks on Call” to purge his computer and two of his deputies’ computers. Bloch claimed the computers contained a virus; however, investigators are believed to suspect that he meant to destroy evidence.

The warrant to seize the computers apparently was part of an investigation of whether Bloch violated a Congressional mandate known as the Hatch Act. The act prohibits employees from using their offices for partisan political purposes.

The Office of Special Counsel was created by Congress after the Watergate scandal to protect federal whistleblowers.

Bloch has been a controversial figure since he was appointed by President Bush in 2004. One of his first official actions was to refuse to investigate claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Career employees in his office say Bloch blamed them for leaking the story and retaliated by creating a new field office in Detroit and forcing them to accept assignments there or relinquish their jobs.

Much blood in the water, obscuring the vision. Turf war, or something more?