Thread: Fired Inspector General Sues Obama to Get Job Back

Report: Fired Inspector General Sues Obama to Get Job Back

Gerald Walpin, who was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service until President Obama removed him, argues in the lawsuit that the firing broke a 2008 law governing how watchdogs can be dismissed.

FOXNews.com

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The government watchdog President Obama fired last month for allegedly being "confused" and "disoriented" filed a lawsuit Friday to reclaim his job, the Washington Times reported.

Gerald Walpin, who was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service until President Obama removed him, argues in the lawsuit that the firing was politically motivated and broke a 2008 law governing how watchdogs can be dismissed, the newspaper said.

Obama hastily removed Walpin after a board meeting in May in which, the White House says, he was "unduly disruptive," and exhibited a "lack of candor" in providing information to decision makers.

Walpin has emphatically disputed the charge, calling it baseless. Walpin believes his firing was a result of bad blood between him and the board over his investigation of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter, for alleged misuse of federal funds.

Walpin said in his lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., that the administration violated a 2008 law meant to protect government watchdogs by not interviewing him or any of his staff before canning him.

The law requires that Congress be notified 30 days before an inspector general is dismissed and Walpin argues that the administration has yet to meet the requirements for who should be notified and what reasons must be given.

Click here to read the Washington Times report.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... s-lawsuit/


http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07 ... obama-job/

Fired inspector general files lawsuit
Charges political motivation
By Stephen Dinan
Saturday, July 18, 2009

The inspector general President Obama fired last month filed a lawsuit Friday to get his job back, claiming the firing was politically motivated and broke a 2008 law governing how watchdogs can be dismissed.

Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service, was removed June 10. In a letter telling Congress of his decision, Mr. Obama said he no longer had confidence in Mr. Walpin, but did not elaborate.

Mr. Walpin says he was fired because he targeted an Obama supporter, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, in a successful investigation that resulted in Mr. Johnson and an academy on which he formerly served as executive director repaying half the $847,000 it received in government grants.

He also said in its haste to dump him, the administration never interviewed him or any of his staff - an omission Mr. Walpin said in his lawsuit violates a 2008 law meant to protect government watchdogs.

The law requires that Congress be notified 30 days before an inspector general is dismissed, and Mr. Walpin contends that the administration has yet to meet the requirements for who should be notified and what reasons must be given.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.

Mr. Walpin became inspector general for CNCS in 2007.

Earlier this year Mr. Walpin issued reports that found that St. Hope Academy, founded by Mr. Johnson, had misused some of the nearly $850,000 in grant money it received from the federal AmeriCorps program. The academy has agreed to pay back about half the money.

But his actions in the investigation were criticized by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, Lawrence G. Brown, who said the inspector general was out of bounds in pushing his case against the mayor and hindered the prosecutor's own investigation.

Days after the firing, a White House lawyer wrote a letter to a small group of senators explaining that Mr. Walpin at a May 20 meeting was "confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior" that led the board of the corporation to question his ability to serve as inspector general.

Though it's not part of the suit, Mr. Walpin's lawyers said in their legal brief that the case "raises serious questions of age discrimination" because of the accusations that Mr. Walpin, who is in his late 70s, seemed unable to function.

The suit was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... s-lawsuit/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/200 ... ed_stories

EDITORIAL: Lieberman overlooks Walpingate
Public hearings are needed on IG firing
By | Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Say it aint so, Joe. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Connecticut independent Democrat, seems to be punting away his duty to protect the independence of federal inspectors general. Mr. Lieberman is a man of integrity who takes pride in his independence. That's why it is disappointing that he has been so quick to accept the weak White House excuses for firing AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin and to dismiss complaints about White House treatment of at least two other IGs who questioned administration conduct.

Mr. Lieberman has jurisdiction over the issue as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. On Thursday, he issued this statement, prematurely: "There is now general agreement the administration has followed both the spirit and the letter of the law with respect to notice. Through two letters and oral briefings, the White House has communicated a number of concerns with Mr. Walpin's conduct as Inspector General."

Surely the senator is not so credulous. The first White House letter about the firing merely asserted a loss of presidential confidence in Mr. Walpin. The belated second letter cited an exceedingly vague series of "troubling and inappropriate conduct" - while the White House itself verged on improper age discrimination by claiming the 77-year-old Mr. Walpin was "disoriented" and "confused" at a May 20 meeting. It also cited an allegation that Mr. Walpin improperly withheld relevant information concerning his investigation into misuse of funds by Sacramento, Calif., Mayor Kevin Johnson, a pal of President Obama's.

If Mr. Lieberman reviews all the charges, he will find them seriously lacking.

If purported confusion at one meeting on May 20 were such an issue, why is there no other example of Mr. Walpins supposed incapacity either before or since? If officials were worried about his health, why did nobody follow up in the weeks after that meeting to see if any underlying medical issue existed - or exhibit the decency of later ascertaining whether the man was OK?

On the withholding of certain memos, it turns out that the supposed "withholding" occurred at a meeting Mr. Walpin did not attend - but at which, we are told, his staff discussed with other investigators the memos in question. So it wasn't as if they, much less Mr. Walpin, were deliberately trying to conceal anything.

It is true that the White House acted only after the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service unanimously recommended, after the May 20 meeting, that Mr. Walpin be relieved. However, that recommendation isn't surprising. Mr. Walpin had excoriated the board for poor oversight of AmeriCorps. When the constable says the security guard was asleep on his watch, the guard obviously resents it.

Inspectors general are quasi-independent watchdogs who are supposed to be removed only for solid reasons. The Washington Times has reviewed volumes of documents on the matter, and we haven't found a legitimate justification for the firing.

Mr. Lieberman's spokesman told us committee staff will continue to review the matter. This review should not be perfunctory. Mr. Lieberman personally ought to interview Mr. Walpin. A public hearing should follow to assess the highly unusual firing of this man, who spent decades building an excellent reputation for probity and good judgment.

YES

I am praying for Mr Walpin

I so admire Gerald Walpin. The link below leads to Sen. Lieberman's "comment on issue" email form and other contact information:
http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/ind ... ding=issue

Lieberman Comments on Walpin Firing
June 19, 2009

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Thursday issued the following statement on the firing of Gerald Walpin as Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service:

"Last week the White House notified the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee of its intent to terminate Gerald Walpin from his position as Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Although there was some early question about whether the Obama Administration had followed the Inspector General law in providing Congress with an adequate written explanation for the firing, there is now general agreement the Administration has followed both the spirit and the letter of the law with respect to notice.

"Through two letters and oral briefings, the White House has communicated a number of concerns with Mr. Walpin's conduct as Inspector General. I appreciate the White House's efforts to provide a full accounting of the procedures it took leading up to the firing and the reasons for its decision.

"I will continue to review the matter of Mr. Walpin's dismissal to ensure that the Administration had ample justification for its actions."

http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/re ... d=314754&&

http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/re ... d=314813&&

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 19, 2009


Contact: Sara Lonardo
Committee Reviews Walpin Termination
Requests White House Cooperation

WASHINGTON - Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Ranking Member Susan Collins, R-Me., and Committee member Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Friday sent a letter to President Obama regarding the termination of Gerald Walpin as Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service.


June 19, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We have received the White House's letter of June 16, 2009, supplementing your prior notification of June 11, 2009, regarding the decision to remove from office the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service, Mr. Gerald Walpin.

We appreciate your communications with the Committee on this matter. Based on the information you provided in the initial letter, and its supplement, we believe you have met the letter and spirit of the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 with respect to congressional notifications of removal or transfer.

Inspectors General are vital partners in Congress's effort to identify inefficient, ineffective, and improper government programs. By leveraging the expertise and independence of Inspectors General and their staffs, Congress has been able to identify, and take action to stop, wasteful spending. The investigations and reports of Inspectors General throughout the government help Congress shape legislation and oversight activities - improving government performance, providing important transparency into federal programs, and giving Americans better value for their tax dollar.

The improvements in the Inspector General Reform Act relating to the removal or transfer of Inspectors General are designed to insulate and protect our nation's watchdogs from inappropriate efforts to hinder their audits and investigations. Although Congress stopped short of requiring "for cause" removal of Inspectors General, the law and its legislative history indicate that the reasons included in the President's notification to Congress upon the removal or transfer of an Inspector General should be more than superficial or conclusory. We appreciate the efforts your staff has made to address our concerns on this issue. Discussions and briefing with Committee staff over the last several days, on both the question of proper notice and the substantive reasons for the termination decision, have been instructive. We request the White House's ongoing cooperation in providing requested information to the Committee to ensure that we are fully apprised of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Walpin's removal. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman
Chairman

Susan M. Collins
Ranking Member

Claire McCaskill
U.S. Senator