Obama accused of doing favors for ally

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A GOP congressional report accuses the White House of doing favors for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA star and prominent ally of President Barack Obama.

The report was spearheaded by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the ranking member of the House Committee on Overisght and Government Reform.

The investigation also found evidence that D.C. schools chief Michelle Ree handled “damage control” after allegations surfaced of sexual misconduct against Johnson, her now-fiance.

The probe was launched after an AmeriCorps inspector general, Gerald Walpin, was abruptly fired in June by White House lawyer Norm Eisen. Walpin, who was appointed to his position during the Bush administration, was pursuing allegations that Johnson misused some of the $800,000 in federal AmeriCorps money provided to St. Hope Academy, a nonprofit school he headed for several years.

Among the accusations: AmeriCorps-paid volunteers ran personal errands for Johnson, washed his car and engaged in political activities.

Walpin’s firing caused an uproar, with his defenders arguing that his removal was politically motivated and that Walpin was an effective watchdog who blew the whistle on the president’s friends and pet causes.

The U.S. attorney for the area, Lawrence Brown, did not pursue charges against Johnson, instead filing an ethics complaint against Walpin for overstepping his authority in his investigation of Johnson.

During the course of the investigation, according to the Grassley-Issa report, Walpin’s team received complaints that Johnson made inappropriate advances toward three young woman involved in the St. Hope program and that Johnson offered at least one of those young women hush money.

Johnson’s office did not immediately respond to calls for comment Friday.

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt issued a statement standing by the decision to remove Walpin.

“By contrast to today’s partisan criticism, the bipartisan Board of [Corporation for National and Community Service, CNCS] unanimously endorsed the President’s decision,” he said. “And the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found that the White House ‘met the letter and spirit of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008’ with respect to the required congressional notifications.

“There is nothing new in today’s report, which ignores the multiple bases for Mr. Walpin’s removal and doesn’t provide a shred of evidence that suggests he was removed for any reason other than performance issues,” he continued.

At the time of the complaints, Rhee was a member of the board of St. Hope. A former St. Hope employee told Walpin’s investigators that Rhee “learned of the allegations and played the role of fixer, doing ‘damage control,’” the report states.

The report accuses the White House Counsel’s Office of withholding information from Congress and misleading investigators after Grassley and Issa questioned Obama’s methods and motives for removing Walpin.

It also provides new details about the role several other Obama allies played in Walpin’s firing.

The then-chairman of the CNCS, a division of AmeriCorps that Walpin was investigating, is Alan Solomant, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and Obama supporter who spoke with Eisen in the White House parking lot hours after hearing Walpin’s objections to a settlement of the St. Hope matter. Solomant shared his concern that Walpin was no longer fit for the job based on his alleged inability to answer questions during the day’s board meeting, the report found.

Eisen has claimed that the president’s decision to remove Walpin was the result of a thorough review of his performance and fitness to continue serving as an inspector general. He also has said that Walpin’s firing was unanimously supported by the CNCS board. According to the Grassley-Issa investigation, the White House spoke with only two of nine board members.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/68905-obama-accused-of-doing-favors-for-ally
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