Bush special counsel faces some jail time

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Published: Thursday, Mar. 10, 2011 / Updated: Thursday, Mar. 10, 2011 03:11 AM
Bush special counsel faces some jail time
By NEDRA PICKLER - Associated Press WASHINGTON --

A judge is telling the former government whistle-blower protector that he can't protect himself from serving at least a month in jail.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson ruled late Wednesday that President George W. Bush's former special counsel, Scott Bloch, cannot withdraw his guilty plea to withholding information from Congress.

Bloch argued that he and prosecutors thought he could serve just probation after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor 10 months ago. After the judge said the law required imprisonment for the crime, prosecutors said they were willing to negotiate another deal to avoid Bloch's incarceration.

But Robinson noted that Bloch had told her at the time he pleaded that he understood he couldn't withdraw it if the sentence was more severe than he expected.

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/03/10/2898202/bush-special-counsel-faces-some.html

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http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com.nyud.net:8090/assets_c/2009/09/s_bloch_9_09-cropped-proto-custom_2.jpg

Scott Bloch

[aquart]

1. A month.

Are they trying to call it justice?

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. A month .... and so 'justice' is served

“Authority founded on injustice is never of long duration.”
Seneca

[Wilms]

2. Piece of work, he is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bloch

[Citizen Worker]

4. There's that old saw once again, the rule of law. With a conviction on his record will Bloch be

disbarred?

[melm00se]

13. depends upon the state bar's rules

not all bars will toss you for a misdemeanor. Felonies most certainly but misdemeanors are a gray area.

[MiaCulpa]

5. Baby steps?

Well, at least there will be a mug shot, a criminal record, handcuffs, jail house food. I wouldn't settle for it, but I'll take it, for now.

[LawnKorn]

6. I hope the negotiations to avoid incarceration include testifying against Bush and Cheney

We have got to get our foot in the door with serious charges against one of Bush's inner circle. If just one of Bush's people are looking at a Grand Jury investigation, they will turn State's evidence and bring down the whole house of cards.

I want to read the headline that Cheney is facing hard time in Leavenworth.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. That would require a prosecutor who is interested in the past.

Our DOJ is quite forward-looking, you know.

[A Simple Game]

19. Unfortunately it would also require a person to be more

afraid of prison than the Bush family.

[truthisfreedom]

7. Bwahahahahahahaha!

I don't care how this turns out. I'm laughing my ass off at the prospect of the time served.

[Hubert Flottz]

8. O M G...30 days in zee cooler, I'll bet he dies of old age in prison.

30 years in the hole for the entire crew sounds more like it. Is he holding up his hand for a pre jail Lester Hayes stickum application so he can hang on to his soap in there? Gosh he looks Sooo happy.

[rasputin1952]

9. Ideologues have no place in enforcemnet situations...

This clown was hell-bent on destroying the "gay agenda", (just what the hell that is has never been explained satisfactorily, probably because there is not "agenda" other than Equal Rights).

30 days, not nearly enough for abusing his position for political ends. The whole rotten cabal should get a minimum of 5-10 years.

[Kolesar]

10. Whistleblowers Want Tough Sentence for Scott Bloch

Whistleblowers Want Tough Sentence for Scott Bloch

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/07/whistleblowers-want-tough-sentence-for-scott-bloch.html

Whistleblower groups and some former employees of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel want more than probation for Scott Bloch, a former head of the office who is scheduled to be sentenced Friday after a long-running criminal investigation.

In a six-page letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson, lawyers for the whistleblower groups and former employees describe Bloch’s stormy tenure from 2004 to 2008. They note allegations that Bloch discriminated against gay and lesbian employees, that he retaliated against employees who tried to draw attention to his actions, and that he interfered with federal investigators when he hired “Geeks on Call” to wipe out computer files.

As the independent U.S. special counsel, Bloch was one of the federal government’s top lawyers for investigating waste, fraud and abuse, and for protecting whistleblowers.

In April, Bloch pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of withholding information from Congress, and he’ll be sentenced by Robinson. He faces up to six months in prison, but this month, lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department said they would not oppose probation.

Though it does not call explicitly for prison time, the letter on behalf of whistleblowers says probation wouldn’t be strong enough. “On behalf of the victims of Mr. Bloch’s unlawful conduct, we urge the Court to award a sentence that appropriately reflects the severe, long-lasting, and broad impact of his actions,” reads the letter (PDF).

Debra Katz and Avi Kumin of Katz, Marshall & Banks in Washington wrote the whistleblowers’ letter on behalf of their clients, who include: an unspecified number of former Office of Special Counsel employees, the Government Accountability Project, and the Project on Government Oversight.

Bloch is now an employment lawyer at Washington’s Tarone & McLaughlin. A message left today with his attorney, Winston & Strawn partner William Sullivan Jr., was not immediately returned.

UPDATE (7/20): Among the groups mentioned in the letter is the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates on behalf of gays and lesbians, but Katz and Kumin do not represent the organization with regard to Bloch's criminal sentencing, Kumin clarified Tuesday.

[SpiralHawk]

12. He was one of the principal OCCULTIST republicons

getting the hard drives wiped of evidence that incriminated the RepubliThugs who robbed & trashed America for 8 agonizing years of FAIL.

Ptooooey on Republicon darkside occultism.

[Solly Mack]

11. K&R

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. Oh, big deal...a month in jail

These people are fucking hypocrites of the worst kind. They send ordinary people to prison for 30 years over property crimes and non-violent drug offenses, then wail and moan over a month in jail. It's pathetic. A *month,* likely in the softest softique low-risk area of a fucking jail. It's not like they're gonna throw him into Baker Row in the old LA County jail, for chrissakes. That's only for the...ahem...those people, it seems.

Gimme a big whiney fucking break.

[Hotler]

16. kicking. n/t

[gratuitous]

17. Aw c'mon, Judge

You can't expect Scott Bloch to understand all the subtle nuances of the law! He couldn't possibly have foreseen that after he cut a deal with prosecutors that some judge would insist on following the law, and toss his worthless hide in the pokey. "Withholding information from Congress" isn't all that serious, is it? Okay, the information "withheld" was evidence of further and far more serious crimes, but he successfully covered those up! Doesn't he get credit for that? Think of his wife and kids (if he has any)! Also, he's got a reservation for a tee time at Winged Foot coming up. Do you know how hard that is to get?

Wahhhhh!

Mr. Bloch: You're getting off so easy, and if you don't know it, I'm here to tell you. If it was up to me, I'd be looking into full and vigorous prosecution for every last crime you were involved in. In exchange for any plea deal, I'd have you giving up every other miscreant within shouting distance of you during your criminal tenure. You'd be testifying to various courts and juries until you were a very old Bloch. What did the Obama Justice Department get in exchange for Bloch's candy-ass plea? A pledge not to subvert the Constitution again until 2013? Nauseating!

[annabanana]

18. my rogues gallery: small fry and big, in no particular order

I believe that all these people had the opportunity to do the right thing, and chose not to. If there is anyone here that you think should not be here, let me know.

Alberto Gonzales Barbara Fast David Addington
The Big Dick Mr. "Or North Somewhat" Geoffrey Miller
George Tenant The Idiot Son Jay Bybee
John Yoo Marc Warren Ricardo Sanchez
Stephen Cambone Thomas Pappas William Haynes
Wojdakowski