Bloch: Not Leaving Yet

Embattled Office of Special Counsel chief Scott Bloch doesn't sound like a guy who's going to step aside any time soon. Bloch responded swiftly to a letter from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman yesterday asking him to step down.

Bloch, you may remember, is the subject of a federal investigation into whether he destroyed computer files related to charges he illegally retaliated against OSC whistleblowers.

But as to the question of whether that means he should move on, Bloch reminded Waxman in the letter that he was appointed to a five-year term that doesn't end until Jan. 5, 2009, and that "the president very recently declined an invitation to dismiss me under OSC's authorizing statute, at least according to news accounts."

Bloch promised Waxman only that "I will note your concerns and I will take them under advisement as I consider the remaining few months of my term."