Protecting whistleblowers from the agency that's supposed to protect them.

Today marked the latest, sad episode demonstrating the Bush Administration's complete contempt for notion that the work of Federal agencies should be shielded from political interference. The FBI, one of the few agencies not completely overrun with political operatives (see my previous post), raided and temporarily shut-down the Office of Special Counsel. According to the N.Y. Times, the "counsel’s office, which answers to the White House, is charged with protecting federal employees from reprisals for whistle-blowing and with investigating accusations of political interference in their work." Critics charge that the office has instead focused on promoting conservative social causes and retaliated "against whistle-blowers in its own ranks." So, the good news is that FBI is finally doing something about the misuse of this office. The bad news is that they waited so long.

Update: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility is calling for Congress to abolish the Office of Special Counsel.
President Bush ignored a staff request that he fire the Special Counsel Scott Bloch.