Scott Bloch, who heads up the Office of Special Counsel at the Justice Department ("Karl Rove? Let me take care of him!"), had his hard drives very professionally and thoroughly erased. Fresh start. No incriminating stuff left in there. Remember? Scott Bloch was the guy at Justice who was investigating Rove while under investigation himself.
Today Tim Grieve comes up with this story about Bloch, brought to light by the Wall Street Journal.
Bloch tells the Journal that he was just trying to get rid of a virus that was attacking his computer. But records show that Geeks on Call performed a "seven-level wipe" -- a process that makes it "nearly impossible for forensics experts to restore the data later" and one that Geeks on Call's Jeff Phelps says his geeks don't use to eradicate viruses.
Bloch insists that Geeks on Call didn't erase any documents related to any investigation -- and by that, we assume he means both his investigation into whether Rove used government agencies to reelect Republicans to Congress in 2006 and the Office of Personnel Management's investigation into whether Bloch mishandled whistle-blower cases he was supposed to be investigating.
A few questions we'd like to see answered: If Bloch had a virus on his computer, why didn't he call on the government's own tech folks to deal with it? Why was it necessary to scrub not just his computer but also the laptops of his former deputies? And finally, what, exactly, is on the "encrypted flash drive" the Journal says Bloch bought from Geeks on Call?
After that, do you believe the Justice Department will continue to pursue the Rove matter? Will all the material relating to Blackwater, for instance, be erased by one or another set of professional geeks?
