Lurching from Bad to Worse to…

Just when you thought the turmoil in the Office of Special Counsel could not get worse…guess what?  It has.

Back in May, right around the time the FBI raided the OSC offices and executed search warrants for the head of the office, Scott Bloch, POGO obtained access to an amazing internal OSC document.  Here the OSC is the office charged with protecting whistleblowers from reprisal, and investigating attempts to politicize the federal workforce.  Yet a special task force set up by Bloch had had its mission turned upside down; rather than pursuing complex and high-profile investigations, they were being used by Bloch to fend off a long-running investigation of himself.  With the FBI searches, it was clear that investigation, originally launched by the White House at the urging of POGO and other non-profits, had taken a serious new turn.

Since that time, a parade of OSC staffers have gone through the doors of the federal grand jury examining various questions about Bloch and his alleged misconduct; those allegations include accusations that he retaliated against whistleblowers within his own agency, and that he may have deleted files and obstructed investigators.

It is almost impossible to imagine how difficult it is for OSC staff to continue to do their jobs, when they are being called to testify about their boss's actions even while he continues to sit in the front office.  But their ordeal has just become worse.  Deputy Special Counsel James Byrne has called it quits, in an e-mail sent to all staff yesterday:

Colleagues,

As you may have heard, I am resigning my career Senior Executive Service position as Deputy Special Counsel effective July 19, 2008.  I am grateful for the opportunities I have been afforded during my time at OSC, and I leave with a deep admiration for all of you -- the men and women who dedicate their lives to safeguarding the merit system and to protecting federal employees from prohibited personnel practices.  Please let me know if there is anything that I need to tend to prior to my departure.  I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

All the best,

Jim

James M. Byrne
Deputy Special Counsel

In a classic example of what is meant by the phrase, "damning with faint praise," Bloch's response was maybe one notch up from "don't let the door hit you on your way out":

I want to thank Jim Byrne for his public service to OSC in his 18 months with the agency.  I know you have all come to see his qualities of hard work and concern for the federal community we serve.  The good news is, the units and task forces are working very well and the leadership in place is superior to face the challenges ahead.

Despite Bloch's blasé attitude that all will run smoothly without him, POGO has been told that Byrne had been one of the last remaining redoubts for that embattled staff.  With him gone, where will they turn next?  Is there any hope at all that the White House will finally do the right thing and tell Mr. Bloch it's time for him to go?

-- Beverley Lumpkin

Comments

In your Friday afternoon Blog entry from Beverley Lumpkin about the resignation of Jim Byrne at the Office of Special Counsel, you left out one very telling aspect. Bloch signed his e-mail simply, "The Special Counsel." He did not sign it using his name. He simply double-spaced down from the few sentences and typed "The Special Counsel." Doing so really emphasizes your thought, "don't let the door hit you on your way out."

[Axel]

Dear Ms. Lumpkin, July 14, 2008

Please allow me to note that I have just read your recent Article of today entitled , 'Not exactely a Vote of Confidence' and to continue to express my gratitude to you and POGO on you continuing efforts and endeavors and on behalf of all.

Also please me to much to briefly note that many years ago I directly requested Stephen Kohn of the National Whistleblower Center whom also testified at that 11/2003 US Senate Committee of Government Ethics and Chaired by Senator Lieberman and Senator Collins and directly used and referenced my name and case file(s) FEDCIR Dockets #00-3446 and #02-3254 and then GAP Government Accountability Project and others to directly file an Amicus Brief on my behalf and especially in respect to our Legal System et all.

Please further note and as I presumme you and POGO well know that these many seemingly negligent Executive and Judicial Branch Leaders and/or criminally negligent to warrent proper and forthright investigation into high crimes and misdeamoners people within our US Executive, Judicial and Legislative Government are appointed and/or aproved by our and these very same US Senatorial and Congressional Judiciary Committee Leaders. (just one example is the McCain, Gramm SWAP's Legislation that was approved a decade ago that is now be held accountable as the root cause of the so=called bank(s) sub-prime failures and as mentioned recently on Democracynow.org radio broadcast along with recent prior Democracynow.org broadcasts that mention alleged crimes equivilent to treason and anti Democracy from rulings from Justice Scalia and other allegations of crimes of torture from Rumsfield and with the preceived full knowledge and/or precieved complicity of the entire US Executive Branch of our US Government, et all and since and including inception of these criminal atocities and within the continuing actions within the alleged Iraq illegal war, patriot act, illegal wire tapping and many other negligent and/or high crimes and/or misdeamoner actions.)

Again and even thought I continue to have the highest regard for POGO, GAP and the NWC efforts and endeavors within their, I presume, respective support and endeavors towards the passage of the current Whistleblower Legislation I continue to contend that my request for an official public legal inquiry request for an Amicus Brief as I previously and numerously described is valid and continues to be an ethical recourse and endeavor even if denied at the onset for a time jurisdictional. (Although, again please note that I am not a lawyer and therefore have nothing to lose as far as retaliation in a direct sense from the Bar Associations and other Legal Entities and within our US Executive, Judicial and Legislative Branches of Government in reference to the Amicus Brief Filing request.

As POGO has my contact information, I presume if you and/or POGO have any further suggestions, comments or concerns you and/or POGO will contact me at
your convenience.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Axel

[Axel]

Dear Ms. Beverly Lumpkin, July 14, 2008

Good day. I hope as well as can be expected you and all are well and fine. As well as can be expected, I am well and fine.

I am writing to you directly and from my review of your highly distinguished career and your ongoing endeavors at POGO. Please note that as the expression goes that the 'dots have been connected' and especially within just these recent reply comments to your/this recent POGO Article 'Lurching from bad to worse...'. I presume we would all be appreciative of the highly exemplary, superb and excellent distinguished POGO, GAP Government Accountability Project and the NWC National Whistleblower Center indication as to and/or a response from the previous comment replies to your Article and on my many years of my and/or others posting replies on your POGO and GAP websites and the tremendous and I presume painstaking super and excellent endeavors and accomplishments of POGO, GAP and the NWC on behalf of all and as I have numerously and previously mentioned in my prior years of comment replies on POGO and GAP.

Thank you and all for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Axel
Axel V. Sabersky

[Axel]

Dear Readers, July 13, 2008

Please allow me to add a few additional names to the previous comment replies to this Article. Valerie Plame is a highly well known victim of the CIA/ DOJ and Jesselyn Radack is a victim of the US Attorneys office of the DOJ and has published a book entitled 'The Canary in the Coalmine' and also has an intersting interview with Mark Karlin of www.buzzflash.com.

Also, I posted a hurried impromptu reply comment to Jesslyn Radack 7/3/2008 blog on the Government Accoutability Project website www.whistleblower.org that may be of assistance to the many of our courages and brave US Citizens and all the many other people who continue to courageously respect and support, defend and praise our proper and forthright endeavors towards Democracy with life, liberty and the pursuit happiness for all and with the best possible respect and regard for our Democracy, Laws and Religion and God, Man and Country.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Axel

[richard]

Want to know how the FBI and DOJ OSC and OARM treat their whistleblowers ? Simply ask Sibel Edmonds, Fred Whitehurst, Robert Wright, Jane Turner, Youseff Bassem, Colleen Rowley, John Roberts and so forth. They were all FBI whistleblowers, and they all suffered retaliation, reprisal and had their careers destroyed because they told the truth. Does not make one feel real comfortable about the Department of Justice, does it ?

[Axel]

Dear Readers, July 12, 2008

I agree with prior comment. Elaine Kaplan gave US Senate testimony in 11/2003 that apparently mentions her much less than expected and required by law assistance and support for Whistleblowers and yet gave a resignation speech to her OSC employees of her and the OSC tremendous success towards Federal Employees and especially Whistleblower Federal Employees. In my view and as I am and continue to be one of OSC and especially OSC Elaine Kaplan's victims a DOJ/INS Whistleblower, I agree with the above reply comment.

Hopefully these areas of descrepienceis will be resolved with the passage of the current Whistleblower legislation that has apparently been stalled and/or subverted and/or ignored in our house of US Congressional and Senatorial Legislatures for over a year and after the unanimous approval and 100% veto proof majority vote to approve by our US Congressional and Senatorial Legislatures over a year ago. The excuse is to my information that somehow and seemingly mysteriously one lone US Congressional Legislature is able to prevent this bill from final approval for over a year and which appears in my view to be a deplorable and seemingly disingenuous excuse and that therefore could easily be referenced as a disipicable and sad display as acknowledgement from our US Legislatures and disgusting to have to contend with these further and unnecessary delays in the final approval of this absolutely necessary Whistleblower Legislation.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Axel

[Ken Huffman]

Why did you leave out mention of the OPM IG in this OSC article? It's the OPM IG who's had Scott Bloch under investigation for 3 years without result, not the FBI. It's the OPM IG trying to determine if Bloch retailliated against OSC whistleblowers like the OPM IG did his own employees, not the FBI. Give the man his due POGO. And while you're at it, give the MSPB and, your hero, former OSC Director Elaine Kaplan her due as well. They had no interest in hard evidence, including documents from the IG's own Office of Investigation, that whistleblowers were being systematically retalliated against by the OPM IG himself. Make sure everyone gets credit for their fine work POGO. Maybe you should hand out more awards.