The problem stems from the AG finding an Obama supporter – former NBA star now Mayor Kevin Johnson guilty of misappropriating funds for his own political gain. The trouble for Obama is that he can’t do that. From Byron York:
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.
York obviously has access to Sen. Charles Grassley’s staff and published the letter he sent to the WH:
“I was troubled to learn that last night your staff reportedly issued an ultimatum to the AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin that he had one hour to resign or be terminated,” Grassley wrote. “As you know, Inspectors General were created by Congress as a means to combat waste, fraud, and abuse and to be independent watchdogs ensuring that federal agencies were held accountable for their actions. Inspectors General were designed to have a dual role reporting to both the President and Congress so that they would be free from undue political pressure. This independence is the hallmark of all Inspectors General and is essential so they may operate independently, without political pressure or interference from agencies attempting to keep their failings from public scrutiny.”
Grassley said he was “deeply troubled” by the Walpin matter and closed by asking the president “to review the Inspector General Reform Act you cosponsored and to follow the letter of the law should you have cause to remove any Inspector General.”
It should has come as no surprise that Obama and the Democrats wants AmeriCorps and its large work force under their thumb. They want political allies like Johnson to be able to use this government program thats intended to do things like assist in reading programs to do leg work for them and have the taxpayer pay for it.
York’s updates provide more to the story:
UPDATE 1: I’ve been trying to discover the real reason for Obama’s move, and it’s still not clear. I’m told that it could be a combination of the normal tensions that surround any inspector general’s office, or the president’s desire to get his own people in IG positions, or a dispute over a particular investigation. “Bottom line,” one source wrote, “getting rid of a tough, Republican-appointed IG who has been aggressively going after waste and fraud gives Obama a chance to replace that IG with a more compliant team player.”
I’m also told that a number of inspectors general around the government have been expressing concerns to Congress recently about threats to their independence.
UPDATE 2: More information now, from the Associated Press. The White House is going ahead with firing Walpin. 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.
Bottom line: The AmeriCorps IG accuses prominent Obama supporter of misusing AmeriCorps grant money. Prominent Obama supporter has to pay back more than $400,000 of that grant money. Obama fires AmeriCorps IG.
We were told during the Bush presidency about the unprecedented power grab that threatenedour freedoms. Obama’s unprecedented use of Czars (now 19 with the new pay czar) subplants the Constitutional role of Cogrress. Coupled with his zeal to intimidate IG’s, Obama continues to make it clear he wants to wrest power from the American people.
UPDATE: This from Jennifer Rubin on czars:
it is not just that we’ve had an enormous expansion of power by the federal government, it is that it has been done with virtually no Congressional consent, funding, or oversight. Liberals were very concerned about an imperial executive in the era of George W. Bush but nary a peep now is raised when Congress becomes a mute bystander. Conservatives don’t like the expansion of federal power, the erosion of the rule of law, the attack on the free market and irresponsible spending — but they should be alert also to the grave constitutional distortion underway. Congress may not be to conservatives’ ideological liking but at least there the minority’s voice is heard in the Senate, debate and compromise can take place, and there is the opportunity for public opinion to register. Government by executive fiat contains none of those protections.
At some point the legislative branch may want to wake from its slumber and assert its rightful role. And the lawmakers might want to do that before they get blamed in 2010 for the executive branch’s failings. “It wasn’t us!” is going to sound like a lame excuse
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This post was written by bobsikes on June 12, 2009
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 incumbant 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.