The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has created a task force to look into whether top White House or Justice Department officials violated federal law in three different scandals. Special Counsel Scott Bloch says his office will examine the firing of at least one of the eight U.S. attorneys, the White House claim to have lost key emails, and administration efforts to keep appointees in line with Republican policies. But questions are already being raised about the independence of the investigation. Bloch himself is an appointee of President Bush. He previously served as a lawyer for companies defending whistleblower lawsuits. During his three-year tenure, he’s faced allegations of employee intimidation, harboring anti-gay views and refusing to enforce a discrimination ban within his office. Melanie Sloan is the director of the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics. She said, “Having transformed the Office of Special Counsel into a virtual black hole for legitimate complaints of retaliation, Bloch is decidedly not the right person to tackle the issues of misconduct and illegality that surround top White House officials.”