WASHINGTON (AP) — A former government official responsible for protecting whistle-blowers has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of injury to government property.

Scott Bloch had his government computer and those of two of his staffers wiped clean of information in 2006. He had been under investigation at the time for retaliating against employees at the federal agency he headed, which was responsible for protecting the rights of federal workers and ensuring that government whistle-blowers are not subjected to reprisals.

He faces up to six months in jail.

Bloch originally pleaded guilty in 2010 to a misdemeanor count of contempt of Congress and was sentenced to a month in prison. But that was overturned because a magistrate judge refused to let Bloch withdraw his guilty plea, even with the support of prosecutors.