Update: Bloch was fired by the White House yesterday. From CongressDaily ($): Scott Bloch, the embattled head of the U.S. Special Counsel, was fired today in a meeting with White House officials, according to several sources...On Monday Bloch announced plans to resign on Jan. 5. OSC employees said Federal Protective Service employees barred Bloch from his office today. The agency has an all-hands meeting at 4 p.m. Embattled (to understate it) Office of Special Counsel Scott Bloch has announced that he will resign, effective Jan. 5, leaving the post vacant until the next president can appoint a successor. BudgetBlog readers will correctly surmise that we, in the Budget Brigade, will feel his absence. He's given us some good blogging material over the past year. But, if you missed our coverage, you can read in our archives:

• Bloch catches the eye of OSC investigators after he hired Geeks On Call to erase his hard drive so thoroughly that it would meet Defense Department data-security standards.
• The FBI raids Bloch's home and offices - two posts, here and here
• Bloch's deputy resigns in protest saying that Bloch's continued employment puts the "very existence of the Office of Special Counsel...at risk."
• And my personal favorite: It was revealed that Bloch ordered a subordinate to post flattering comments of Bloch on blogs and news websites.

Of course, as Laurita Doan has taught us, resignation is not the end of the road.