Sorry, I Like It Here

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.