Scott Bloch, the Bush era official who famously summoned Geeks on Call to wipe clean his office hard drive, may actually get jail time for his conviction on one count of contempt of Congress. The big takeaway from that is the irony that with all the politicization going on in the Bush Administration, Bloch would be the one to see the slammer.

But of interest to legal types is the argument between the judge in the case and both the defense and prosecutor about what sentence Bloch should receive. Bloch reached a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty with the expectation that he’d only get probation. But the judge has the final say on plea deals, and this judge reads the statute as imposing a mandatory minimum sentence of one month. Neither the defense attorneys nor government prosecutors have been able to convince her otherwise.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.