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June 12, 2009
Obama Removes Oversight From AmeriCorps
Posted by Dave Blount at June 12, 2009 9:07 AM
Given Obama's apparent intentions to use ostensibly volunteer groups as private armies, this is hardly surprising:
[O]n 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.
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) came to Walpin's defense with a letter to the White House that read in part:
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. 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.
As Grassley went on to note, Walpin's abrupt termination violates the law. As a junior Senator, B. Hussein himself cosponsored the Inspectors General Reform Act, which requires the POTUS to give Congress 30 days notice before dismissing an IG. But Walpin is getting the ax anyway.
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.
It would be nice to think this is just more of the slimy corruption we've come to expect from Democrats, and not part of the transformation of AmeriCorps into something scary.
On tips from V the K and Burning Hot.
