When Inspectors General attack

The Obama administration has got a little problem on its hand and its because the man pictured won’t take a firing and a smearing of his faculties by the administration as a subtle hint that they want him gone.

Recall Walpin was the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service which runs the AmeriCorps program. Last year, Walpin launched an investigation into the misuse of Americorps funds by Sacramento mayor and Obama supporter, Kevin Johnson. The investigation resulted in Johnson being suspended from receiving anymore AmeriCorps funding and being directed to give back about half of the nearly $850,000, his community group, St. Hope, received.

Walpin raised objections to what he felt was too lenient of a settlement and went justifiably ballistic when Johnson was unsuspended, alleging favoritism on behalf of the Obama administration towards Johnson. Walpin was subsequently fired by the administration this past spring who publicly questioned Walpin’s mental faculties on the way out the door. (archived posts on L'affaire Walpin, here)

Well, the old man hasn’t backed down an inch and now he wants his old job back.

Walpin, who was fired by President Barack Obama last summer amid controversy over his probe of Johnson, revealed Tuesday that he also had been cleared of overstepping his authority in the matter.

The letter from the Integrity Committee of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency is dated Oct. 19 and indicates the probe against him has been closed.

"After carefully considering the allegations described in the complaint together with your response, the IC determined that the response sufficiently and satisfactorily addressed the matter and that further inquiry or an investigation regarding the matter was not warranted," committee Chairman Kevin L. Perkins wrote.

Now, he said, he wants his job back.

"It certainly is a vindication that I and my office – and it was mainly my office, the career staff – acted properly in connection with the investigation into St. HOPE," Walpin said.

"It takes away any basis belatedly set forth by the White House as a reason for my termination," he added.

Not that there is an ice cube’s chance in hell that he gets his job back but the Walpin case reminds us of the need for dedicated public servants who are the taxpayers’ watchdogs and who are increasingly finding themselves pitted against the growing power and number of czars who seem to multiply within this administration in a freakishly asexual amoeba-splitting manner.

Team O can probably thank a 10.2 % unemployment rate that this story of politicizing an entity like the Inspectors General doesn’t get more play.

H/T: Hot Air

Maybe if we stay silent long enough the old man will just go away

Hey, do you remember when we were told that a vote for McCain would just mean more of the politicization of the Justice Department? Well, they were right.

The mail room at the Justice Department must really be backed up.

A few weeks back we posted on the inexplicable dropping of charges against the night club-wielding Black Panthers at a Philly polling location during the Presidential election by the Department of Justice and how an investigation into this by the Civil Rights Commission was being stone-walled.

Well, now it appears Justice may have had a role in the firing of Gerald Walpin as a condition to get stimulus money released to the Sacramento area. Recall how Walpin’s investigation into Sacto mayor and Obama supporter Kevin Johnson resulted in Johnson being suspended from receiving anymore Americorps funding. Johnson was unsuspended, Walpin went justifiable ballistic and was subsequently given the axe.
But the machinations behind how it was that Johnson was unsuspended is receiving the attention of at least one member of Congress.

According to a senior Republican aide, Sessions’ interest was piqued by a statement made in a late March television interview by Rep. Doris Matsui, the Democratic congresswoman who represents Sacramento. Asked whether Johnson’s problems could prevent the city from receiving stimulus funds, Matsui said that, at Johnson’s request, she had “been in conversation with officials at the White House and OMB [Office of Management and Budget] and others to ensure that we don’t lose any money at all.”

Within days of Matsui’s statement, a settlement was reached. Johnson was unsuspended, and in a particularly unusual move, acting U.S. Attorney Brown issued a press release hailing the arrival of stimulus funds. “The lifting of the suspension against all parties, including Mayor Johnson, removes any cloud whether the City of Sacramento will be prevented form receiving much-needed federal stimulus funds,” Brown wrote.

If you are wondering what the hell a U.S. Attorney General is doing talking about porkulus outside the context of an investigation into the abuse of porkulus funds, you are not alone.

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee want to know why a U.S. attorney was touting his own actions in bringing stimulus money to the city. That’s not the normal role of prosecutors. “We need to hear whether the settlement in this case was tainted in any way by political influence or political factors,” says the senior Republican aide.

And, again, efforts to ascertain what was the role the White House and the Justice Department, and in particular, Lawrence Brown, had in the Johnson re-instatement deal is being greeted with silence.

The fact that the one man, Walpin, who stood up to this deal was fired, only makes this whole stinking ordeal that much more suspicious.

H/T: Hot Air

P.S. Good news. Walpin’s got a blog. Well, it’s not his per se, but similar to Bailout Sleuth, it will track all things Walpin and Inspector Generals-gate related.

Accountability for ye but not for thee...

Hey, do you remember when we were told that if we voted for John McCain it would mean more of the Bush-era consolidation of power in the Executive branch to the exclusion of Congress? Well, they were right.

Inspectors general at five financial regulatory agencies are objecting to legislation that would elevate their positions to the presidential-appointment level, arguing that the move would compromise their ability to conduct independent investigations.

The bill would elevate the five officials at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the National Credit Union Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Supporters of the measure say the five IGs need greater flexibility and more distance between their work and possible interference from agency leadership, especially amid the economic meltdown. But opponents fear that the politics and length of time associated with the appointment process would delay investigations.

The bill, passed last month by the House and awaiting Senate consideration, comes amid a period of increased tension for the government watchdog community, which has seen the departure or dismissal of three inspectors general in recent weeks.

Last month, the International Trade Commission dismissed its inspector general and President Obama fired Gerald Walpin, inspector general at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Also, Amtrak's inspector general retired suddenly after delivering to leadership of the federally backed corporation an independent audit alleging interference with his probes. Amtrak said retirement arrangements had been made before the analysis was delivered.

As it stands now, the Inspectors General report to both the President and Congress. This legislation will eliminate any oversight of the position by Congress.

The President has appointed no fewer than a dozen “czars” running around operating outside of any official oversight except that of the Oval Office and now it appears we may have dozens more IGs that will be the exclusive patronage of the administration.

Ask Gerald Walpin and he might remind us of the adage of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

Smack of the Week

"I would never say President Obama doesn't have the capacity to continue to serve because of his (statement) that there are 56 states."

That from Gerald Walpin after being fired by the President from his post as Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service and which appears to be as a result of his investigations into the misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group led by Sacramenton Mayor Kevin Johnson. You see, as far as can be ascertained, the President fired Walpin because he thought that maybe ol’ Gerald was a little koo-koo.

We’re simply mystified by this Walpin business. Did the Administration think that no one was going to find out about this and did they not think through the fall-out considering that it was the President that co-sponsored the bill regarding the firing of Inspectors General?

You don’t get away with this at the national level. Maybe in the machine politics of, say… Chicago, perhaps, you can pull this stunt – but not on the national stage.

This is trouble for Team Barry especially since the old man doesn’t show any signs of backing down as the above smack would indicate. He’s also making the cable news show rounds. Check out clip here of him taking… and (wait for it) passing an official senility test on the Glenn Beck show.

Unlawfully firing a dedicated public servant for doing his job and then smearing him as justification for the firing is certainly the Hope and Change we’ve been waiting for. How about you?

What he should've been investigated for was his wicked cross-over.... boo-yah!

The Friday evening dump... Pt. II

Hey do you remember when they told us that if we voted for McCain it would just be a continuation of politicization of Presidential appointees of the Bush era? Well, they were right.
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President Barack Obama tried late last week to quietly fire an inspector general who had investigated a close political ally, a move that prompted attention from several media sources anyway. Obama terminated Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program, after Walpin launched an investigation last year that involved Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA player who had founded a community group called St. HOPE Academy.

Walpin’s audit of St. HOPE, which sought to find out how the organization had spent $847,673 in grant funds from AmeriCorps, came in the middle of Johnson’s reelection campaign. At that time, Walpin raised the specter of funds being diverted and misused by Johnson’s organization. The Democrat and supporter of Obama called the investigation “politically motivated,” and his aides brought up details about Walpin’s support for Republican Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to indicate bias on his part. In 2007 and 2008, Walpin donated money to the presidential campaigns of Rudy Giuliani and John McCain.

In April, St. HOPE Academy agreed to a settlement with the federal government to pay $423,836.50, of which $72,836.50 came out of Johnson’s pocket. Walpin was cut out of those negotiations to settle the matter.

"...a move that prompted attention from several media sources anyway." Heavens, no.