Last time around we (meaning all people that are not fans of Karl Rove) were all hoping and praying that Fitzgerald would indict Bush's brain for his role in the Valerie Plame affair. Unfortunately Fitz disappointed us and obtained a conviction for Scooter Libby instead. Leave it to Rove to earn himself another investigation from the Office of Special Counsel today for possibly violating the Hatch Act concerning the U.S. Attorney saga.
From The Los Angeles Times:
The new investigation, which will examine the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities, could create a substantial new problem for the Bush White House.
First, the inquiry comes from inside the administration, not from Democrats in Congress. Second, unlike the splintered inquiries being pressed on Capitol Hill, it is expected to be a unified investigation covering many facets of the political operation in which Rove played a leading part.
"We will take the evidence where it leads us," Scott J. Bloch, head of the Office of Special Counsel and a presidential appointee, said in an interview Monday. "We will not leave any stone unturned."
It is amazing to see an arm of the Administration investigating itself and especially it's main architect. If Bloch really does turn over every stone he is going to find a lot of nasty bugs lurking beneath. Those bugs could bite him in a way where he could lose his job, because Bush has shown he will stop at nothing to squash dissent from within his own ranks and ignore the rest that comes from Congress and the American people.
It is extremely important that the facts come out in this case. Violating the Hatch Act goes to the core of effective and responsive government. If you can't trust your civil servants, then the government is not only in the toilet, the lever has been pushed as well.
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