It seems that GM is not the only industry being nationalized these days – Chicago-style politics have now come to the federal stage:
Some strange and potentially suspicious events tonight concerning the Obama White House and the AmeriCorps program. I’ve been told that on Wednesday night the AmeriCorps inspector general, Gerald Walpin, received a call from the White House counsel’s office telling him that he had one hour to either resign or be fired. The White House did not cite a reason. “The answer that was given was that it’s just time to move on,” one Senate source told me tonight. “The president would like to have someone else in that position.”
Inspectors General are part of every federal department. They are given the responsibility of independently investigating allegations of waste, fraud, and corruption in the government, without fear of interference by political appointees or the White House. Last year Congress passed the Inspectors General Reform Act, which added new protections for IGs, including a measure requiring the president to give Congress 30 days prior notice before dismissing an IG. The president must also give Congress an explanation of why the action is needed. Then-Sen. Barack Obama was one of the co-sponsors of the Act.
It seems that Walpin had investigated a political ally of the president and found his conduct wanting:
The firing apparently stems from Walpin’s investigation of a non-profit group, St. HOPE Academy, run by Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California (and a big Obama supporter). “[Walpin] found that Johnson, a former all-star point guard for the Phoenix Suns, had used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in school-board political activities, run personal errands for Johnson and even wash his car,” the AP reports. In April, the U.S. attorney declined to file any criminal charges in the matter and criticized Walpin’s investigation. But at the same time Johnson and St. HOPE agreed to repay about half of the $850,000 it had received from AmeriCorps.
Perhaps acting US attorney Lawrence Brown was right: Walpin’s investigation into Johnson’s management of the St. HOPE charity revealed sloppy record keeping, but no criminal malfeasance. And Walpin has to rebut charges that his press releases concerning the affair were timed to influence Sacramento’s mayoral election. Perhaps Walpin ought to be fired.
Still, there is a legal framework for doing so and it’s more than a little off-putting that the White House attempted to evade the law through machine politics and intimidation tactics. After all, the firing of an Inspector General cannot plausibly be considered the kind of exceptional circumstances that an executive might exploit to arrogate to himself additional power, or set aside standing law.
Walpin is now on paid leave, awaiting the timeout of his 30-day notification and the accession of Congress.
The blogs are all over what might charitably be called an assumption of power, or rather less charitably its abuse: Byron York broke the story in the Washington Examiner, and follow-up posts are found at both Hot Air and Malkin’s place.
No doubt the Paper of Record will be all over this in time, but as of this moment it hasn’t yet broken the signal-to-noise ratio.
About the only sounds I’ve heard from the MSM on this issue were crickets chirping…….
Broken the SNR is to laugh. The NYT is still drooling over the Obamation. Things of this sort are to be expected with this bunch.
So much of the historical election. Lottsa hope, little change.
Abuse of power? From a graduate of the “Chicago School” of politics? I’m shocked, SHOCKED, I tell ya!
It’s my country and I’ll do what I want to………do what I want to………do what I want to.
As often is with “personnel issues” we’re not given the real reason for Walpin’s dismissal. Here in Sacramento, many are disappointed that someone who was willing to take on Kevin Johnson is now being fired. Some of us had known about the grant money abuses that took place in 2004 but had no idea who was the correct authority to complain to. Some of us went to the Secretary of State’s office and the FPPC to complain about his use of Americorps volunteers to support certain incumbent candidates for school board who had voted to close Sacramento High and turn it over to Johnson. Others were aware of the religious component that was part of the Volunteers obligation because it was reported in the Sacramento Bee. What got the Inspector General interested was the allegations of sexual abuse involving Johnson and two Americorps volunteers. Reports in the Bee of Johnson’s settlement made to an underage girl in Phoenix gave some credence to the stories.
The settlement that was reached between Johnson and Americorps means he once again escapes real scrutiny. It’s unlikely he’ll ever repay a dime of the money. I don’t want this story to be about Obama. I want it to be about Johnson. That he his given any kind of weight as a political and public figure on the state and national stage is pathetic. Here in Sacramento it is just laughable when we’re not cryin’ about it. Obama needs to pay more attention to the actions of those he calls his allies.
Kate Lennox/
You don’t EVEN understand. The Donkey Party NEVER throws their bad apples to the wolves–least of all “Chicago School” Obama–unless they’re a direct threat to Obama himself, then it’s under the bus for them. Only way they are everforced out is if they are dragged out kicking and screaming like Jim Wright by a scandal too big to ignore or voted out by their constituents disgusted for the same reason.
But if the guy is a non-elected official in one of those “twilight zone” multi-jurisdictional bureaucratic agencies in a “no-man’s land” of fuzzy legal/political, State-Federal-Local boundaries (often multi-state as well-think Port Authority of NY or numerous “Development Agencies/Authorities” like KIPDA–the Ken/Ind Development Agency Hq in Louisville and funded by both the State and the Feds) with numerous competing anbitious political and legal players at different levels within a single party, let alone both parties? Well, good luck with all that.
Chicago thugs at work. Their hubris, greed, smugness and boldness know no bounds. They are used to getting away with this sort of stuff, and even if caught figure they will still get away with no punishment. Cocky, arrogant, lying pathological parasites.
Sorta like hospital employees with cushy $300K jobs funded by the government or community organizers.
Maybe the 2010 elections will curtail some of their unmitigated power and gall, but even that is iffy.