D.C. Judge: Scott Bloch Must Spend At Least One Month in Jail

Updated Feb. 3

Scott Bloch, the former head of the Office of Special Counsel, must serve at least one month in prison on the charge of lying to Congress, a federal magistrate judge in Washington said in a ruling published Wednesday evening.

Bloch had been scheduled to be sentenced Thursday afternoon in front Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson of Washington’s federal trial court. Robinson this evening pushed back sentencing to next Monday, giving more time for the attorneys to review what she called a "significant sentencing issue."

Bloch pleaded guilty in April. His sentencing, however, has been repeatedly continued as Robinson studied whether the charge of contempt of Congress carries a one-month minimum mandatory jail sentence. The charge is rare. In one recent case in Washington, professional baseball star Miguel Tejada was sentenced to probation.

Bloch’s attorneys at Winston & Strawn, including litigation partner William Sullivan Jr., argued that Robinson had discretion to sentence Bloch to probation. Sullivan had the backing of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Leon worked out a deal with Bloch that called for probation, a fine and community service.

In her 13-page ruling [.pdf] this evening, Robinson said the dispute is a novel one, with no published opinion on whether contempt of Congress carries a one-month mandatory minimum sentence. Robinson said she found no authority to support the argument from the lawyers that the sentencing provision in the statute is discretionary. “The court therefore declines the invitation to do so,” Robinson said.

Bloch’s attorneys and federal prosecutors tried to convince Robinson that the language in the statute—which says the offense is “punishable” by imprisonment for no less than a month—means capable of being punished, not that imprisonment is mandatory. “According the term ‘punishable’ the definition requested by counsel would require that the court construe the term in a vacuum, without consideration of the entirety of the provision,” Robinson said.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission published a report in 2009 that identified contempt of Congress as one of more than 100 offenses that carry mandatory minimum sentences. Sullivan urged Robinson to disregard the report. Prosecutors said the report was not binding on the court. Contempt of Congress carries a maximum prison term of up to one year.

There was no early word on whether Bloch will try to back out of his plea agreement. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on Robinson's ruling.

On Thursday morning, Sullivan said in an e-mail: "We are certainly disappointed in the ruling, but are gratified that the government supported our position that the statute does not require a mandatory sentence, and we will continue to pursue a just resolution to this matter."

Comments

[Martin Snyder]

I cannot belive the amount of legal time/resources expended to keep this guy out of the can for 30 days. It must run into the hundreds and hundreds of thousands.

Proportionality is a key moral value, and this case is already a moral disaster for the country.

People get 30 days everywhere across this nation for looking at a judge funny, and we have to put up with this stuff after major crimes have been proven ?

This is the stuff that drives me crazy about Obama. "Looking forward not backward" is a sick, sad joke that will be destructive for a long time to come.

[Gabe Bruno]

30 days for all the years of damage that Bloch did while betraying his oath of office? How about restitution to all his victims? After all, this carefully crafted plea is allowing him to remain an Officer of the Court so he can continue to make money in the profession he betrayed. He should be required to tithe all his victims for the rest of his hypocritical life.

[Richard Wyeroski]

Any wonder that our government is not trusted by the people any longer.

What happened to justice and the "American WAY"?

As a victim of Scott J. Bloch, I feel that he was let off easy. His office helped to destroy my career.

WikiLeaks, the Madoff Scandal and the Gulf oil spill are just the beginning of government failing the people

Richard Wyeroski
Former FAA Inspector

[doug kinan]

Bloch's high crime and misconduct against the government and the American people is unparalleled.

His predecessor, Elaine Kaplan, should be standing trial for her misconduct and malfeasance. Instead, she was appointed Chief Counsel for the Office of Personnel Managment.

Anyone wishing to understand the enormity of the crime can send for my 30-page affidavit at [email protected]