Yesterday, we talked about the Office of Special Counsel launching a broad investigation into Karl Rove’s political activities, with particular attention on the prosecutor purge, RNC emails, and fairly obvious Hatch Act violations in which Rove’s office politicized various federal agencies. “We will take the evidence where it leads us,” Scott Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel and a presidential appointee, said in an interview Monday. “We will not leave any stone unturned.”
I expressed some optimism for the investigation. After all, the OSC has a lot of tools at its disposal, including subpoena power. Paul Light, a New York University expert on the executive branch, said of Bloch’s plan, “This is a big deal. It is a significant moment for the administration and Karl Rove.”
In retrospect, I probably wrote this with a tad too much optimism. The investigation could be a big deal, and the OSC is capable of launching a thorough and revealing probe, but given the background of the OSC’s Bloch, skepticism is probably wise.
The senior government official who says he is investigating Karl Rove for allegations he influenced government activity for partisan purposes is himself facing allegations of similar behavior. […]
In April 2005, [government watchdogs] and others complained the White House appointee had allowed his office to “sit on” a complaint that then-White House National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice used government funds to travel in support of President Bush’s re-election bid.
By contrast, they said, Bloch ordered an immediate on-site investigation of a complaint that Bush’s challenger for the White House, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., improperly campaigned in a government workplace, which had been filed around the same time…. In January, his office said Kerry did not violate the act. It has made no statement on the Rice complaint. Bloch’s office has called the allegation “old and previously addressed.”
In late 2005, the White House-run President’s Committee on Integrity and Efficiency opened an investigation into that charge and several others, including accusations that Bloch’s office retaliated against employees who took issue with internal policies and discriminated against employees who were gay or members of religious minorities. The investigation is pending.
This naturally leads to questions about why Bloch would launch this Rove investigation in the first place.
Is it possible that Bloch has suddenly learned to take his responsibilities seriously? Maybe he wants to distance himself from a White House in freefall and make a name for himself with the future in mind? We can’t rule it out, but there are other possibilities that come to mind.
For example, launching an investigation may be Bloch’s way of undermining the ongoing investigation into his own conduct. “I think Bloch is in fact in trouble politically,” Washington, D.C. lawyer Debra Katz told ABC News. Katz represents several whistle-blowers and former employees who have complained about Bloch. “If the [investigation into Bloch] concludes he engaged in misconduct, I think he would attempt to vigorously equate his work” against the White House with any effort to drive him from office, Katz said.
Moreover, as Michael Froomkin explained, this move could help shield Rove, not hold him accountable. “Now, [Rove and other White House officials] have an excuse not to answer any questions. If Congress calls, they all take the 5th — ‘Would love to talk but I’m being investigated by the OSC.’ Ditto for the White House press office — ‘we never comment on pending investigations’ (afterwards they say, ‘we already dealt with that,’ but I’m getting ahead of myself). Is it too paranoid to expect a memo saying that they failed to prove anything beyond reasonable doubt — in Dec 2008?”
But what about career officials at the OSC? Maybe they can ensure a legitimate investigation? Maybe, except when Bloch took over the office, he and his deputies forced out or transferred many of the OSC’s top officials.
To be fair, I should note that some of Bloch’s investigations have targeted GOP officials, and there are multiple reports that the White House has been disappointed that Bloch turned out to be less rabidly partisan than expected. When I referred to his “evenhandedness” yesterday, this is what I meant.
Nevertheless, Bloch’s overall record isn’t exactly encouraging. As David Corn put it, this is “a dizzying situation.”
The investigator investigating officials who oversee the agency that is investigating the investigator. Forget firewalls. This looks more like a basement flooded with backed-up sewage — with the water rising.
Stay tuned.