Obama-3, Inspectors General-0; 2 More Get Canned
There is a serious uproar over the firing of Gerald Walpin who was the Inspector General of AmeriCorps, who was seemingly fired for only doing his job.
Senator Grassley, a long time proponent of Inspectors General, is outraged by what appears to be political malfeasance. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat and major backer of Obama, even voiced concerns over the ordeal.
Walpin was fired based solely on an investigation of Pocket Obama, or at least that’s what Kevin Johnson refers to himself as. Kevin Johnson, a major Obama supporter and friend of the family, was misusing AmeriCorps funds/grants. The entire recollection of the events that led up to Walpin’s firing, and since, are very suspicious.
Obama said that Walpin was fired because he was ‘confused,’ however that doesn’t seem like a good enough excuse to fire an Inspector General without giving the proper amount of notice (30 days), a law that Obama helped create.
Further information has started trickling out after Senator Grassley wrote his letter and has begun investigating the Inspector General issue tied to the Obama administration. Since Walpin’s firing, we have learned that 2 other Inspectors General have been let go for unknown reasons. They received letters that stated their contracts would not be renewed.
Separately this week, the International Trade Commission told its acting inspector general, who is not subject to White House authority, that her contract would not be renewed.
Grassley had become concerned about her independence because of a report earlier in the year that an agency employee forcibly took documents from the acting inspector general.
“It is difficult to understand why the ITC would not have taken action to ensure that the ITC inspector general had the information necessary to do the job,” Grassley wrote on Tuesday.
Less than three hours after the letter was e-mailed to the agency, the acting IG, Judith Gwynne, was told that her contract, which expires in early July, would not be renewed.
IG’s do not serve at the pleasure of the president. IG’s are specifically called upon to investigate fraud, waste, corruption, and to audit government agencies. The very actions of this administration paralyze those who just want to do their job and be honest citizens. Obama seemingly appreciates liars and low moral standards more than character and integrity.
Did Obama forget that he must notify Congress of any IG’s termination, removal, or reassignment? Answer: He hasn’t!
The All Powerful Obama Fires Inspector General of AmeriCorps (For Investigating a Corrupt Crony)
Gerald Walpin, the Inspector General of the Corporation of National and Community Service, which runs AmeriCorps, was fired by Obama late last Wednesday. Walpin was in the midst of investigating Kevin Johnson’s, a former NBA star and an avid Obama supporter, misuse of funds.
If Kevin Johnson was found guilty of fraudulently spending or misusing money, he would have been barred from receiving any future federal grants. He is now the current mayor of Sacramento, California and if barred from federal grants, he would not be able to receive billions in stimulus funding.
Since the stimulus bill itself, was a major pay-to-play scheme, it is important for Obama to pay off his cronies and the constituents that voted for him, in order to secure votes in the future. Anybody acting ethically and getting in the way of the Democrats will be sure to lose their job.
Walpin was driving to upstate New York when he received the dreaded yet ironic phone call on Wednesday night from Norman Eisen, the Special Counsel to the President on Ethics and Reform. Eisen was calling Walpin on behalf of President Obama. Eisen said: “‘Mr. Walpin, the president wants me to tell you that he really appreciates your service, but it’s time to move on,’” Walpin recalls. “Eisen said, ‘You can either resign, or I’ll tell you that we’ll have to terminate you.”
At that moment, Walpin says, he had finished not only a report on the Sacramento probe but also an investigation into extensive misuse of AmeriCorps money by the City University of New York, which is AmeriCorps’ biggest program. Walpin says he told Eisen that, given those two investigations, neither of which was well-received by top Corporation management, the timing of his firing seemed “very interesting.” According to Walpin, Eisen said it was “pure coincidence.”….
In my short life, I have realized that there aren’t pure coincidences and that things tend to happen for reasons. “Nothing, absolutely nothing in God’s world happens by mistake.” This is an historic precedent that just took place, and seems like a more appropriate action from Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro than from the President of the United States.
The method of Walpin’s firing could be a violation of the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act, which requires the president to give Congress 30 days’ notice, plus an explanation of cause, before firing an inspector general. Then-Sen. Barack Obama was a co-sponsor of that legislation. In the case of Walpin, Eisen’s efforts to force Walpin to resign could be seen as an effort to push Walpin out of his job so that the White House would not have to go through the 30-day process or give a reason for its action. When Walpin refused to quit, the White House informed Congress and began the 30-day countdown.
Eisen’s phone call came after months of increasing conflict inside the Corporation for National and Community Service. “We issued two reports that the management of the Corporation and the board of directors didn’t like, because they criticized what the board was doing,” Walpin recalls. There is no question that Walpin discovered misuse of federal money in Kevin Johnson’s program, known as St. HOPE, and at City University of New York. But as a result of those investigations, relations between Walpin and top executives became frosty, and he says they cut him out of Corporation business that should normally include the inspector general.
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In the course of his investigation, Walpin found Johnson and St. HOPE had failed to use the federal money they received for the purposes specified in the grant and had also used federally-funded AmeriCorps staff for, among other things, “driving [Johnson] to personal appointments, washing his car, and running personal errands.” Walpin came to the conclusion that Johnson and St. HOPE should be subject to suspension and debarment. But it was not Walpin’s decision to make; there is another official at the Corporation whose job it is to make that call. In September 2008, after reviewing Walpin’s evidence, the official decided to order a suspension, with the distinct possibility that it would lead to a permanent debarment.
Walpin’s opinion was overruled, whereby the government promised that most of the funds would be returned. Walpin was incredibly discontented by the decision to not only undo the suspension but also attempt to vouch for St. HOPE, an organization that Walpin deemed insolvent. Walpin had gone so far as to protest the decision through the board. It was during this period of time that the Obama administration made their decision to terminate Walpin – a man who was only trying to practice integrity and do his job correctly.
Senator Grassley, a Republican Senator, has called on an investigation into the activities that took place last week. He also would like an investigation into Michelle Obama’s connections to the firing, AmeriCorps, and Kevin Johnson. As you may recall, Michelle Obama is very involved in AmeriCorps and for the first time in any first lady’s history, she actually appointed her very own czar to the organization.
We are being ruled not managed – and here I thought the mafia was bad in New York. Boy was I wrong! The thugacracy in DC takes the cake.
Obama may have studied law, but he certainly has no regard for it. Could you imagine if Karl Rove made the phone call for Bush to fire an inspector general?
