via: RawStory
The federal official helming a probe into potentially illegal partisan political activities conducted by Karl Rove and other White House officials is himself the focus of a federal investigation.
Scott Bloch, the Bush-appointed head of the US Office of Special Counsel, is under investigation for the alleged improper deletion of emails on office computers, The Wall Street Journal’s John R. Wilke reports.
“Recently, investigators learned that Mr. Bloch erased all the files on his office personal computer late last year,” writes Wilke. “They are now trying to determine whether the deletions were improper or part of a cover-up, lawyers close to the case said.” The inspector general of the Office of Personnel Management is examining the case at the urging of the White House.
Read on…
I will throw in this one more excerpt..
The Journal reports that Bloch called the tech support service Geeks on Call for help deleting computer files instead of using his agency’s own in-house computer technicians. That company “dispatched a technician in one of its signature PT Cruiser wagons,” according to Wilke, who adds that Bloch confirms contacting Geeks on Call but maintains it was part of an effort to “eradicate a virus that had seized control of his computer.”
“Mr. Bloch had his computer’s hard disk completely cleansed using a ’seven-level’ wipe: a thorough scrubbing that conforms to Defense Department data-security standards,” the report continues, describing a process which makes it “nearly impossible for forensics experts to restore the data later. Technicians were also directed to erase laptops used by Bloch’s former political deputies, Wilke adds.
“Geeks on Call visited Mr. Bloch’s government office in a nondescript office building on M Street in Washington twice, on Dec. 18 and Dec. 21, 2006,” according the paper’s review of a company receipt. “The total charge was $1,149, paid with an agency credit card, the receipt shows. The receipt says a seven-level wipe was performed but doesn’t mention any computer virus.”
The manager of the Geeks on Call franchise involved told the Journal that the so-called seven-level wipe was not a typical remedy for a computer virus. “We don’t do a seven-level wipe for a virus,” he said.
“Sniff”…”sniff”…
1 Comment
November 28, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Rove and Bush use your constitution as an @$$wipe on more than seven levels. Sorry for the language. It makes me mad to see them returning the heat whenever someones dares to try and look into their misdeeds.