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Violating its own guarantee of unprecedented transparency, the White House is blocking an investigation into the controversial firing of an inspector general who exposed one of President Obama’s political supporters—a California mayor—for misusing federal funds. First Lady Michelle Obama was reportedly behind the contentious June dismissal of AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin and congressional investigators want to interview the aide (Jackie Norris) who may have given the order. At the time Norris was the First Lady’s chief of staff but the White House counsel’s office has blocked investigators from interviewing her, according to a national news report. Norris is currently...

White House Blocks Testimony by First Lady's Ex-Top Aide in Walpin Case Republican efforts to interview a former top aide to Michelle Obama in the controversial case of a fired inspector general have been stymied by the White House, the the top Republican looking into the case said Tuesday Republican efforts to interview a former top aide to Michelle Obama in the controversial case of a fired inspector general have been stymied by the White House, the top Republican looking into the case said Tuesday. The White House counsel's office has blocked Republican investigators from interviewing Jackie Norris, former chief...

Until a few months Walpin was the Inspector General for AmeriCorps. He claims he was fired because he made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Michelle Obama (FOO) Kevin Johnson, former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of funds. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration trashed Walpin hinting that he was in the early stages of dementia. They said the IG seemed "disoriented" at one meeting. Walpin's version of the story was confirmed by a AmeriCorps board member who confirmed that he was fired to protect the Democrats from a...

Congressional investigators looking into the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin have discovered that the head of AmeriCorps met with a top aide to First Lady Michelle Obama the day before Walpin was removed. According to Republican investigators, Alan Solomont, then the chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps, had denied meeting with Jackie Norris, at the time the First Lady's chief of staff. But recently-released White House visitor logs show that Solomont met with Norris on June 9 of this year (as well as on two earlier occasions). President Obama fired Walpin...

Despite the efforts of Obama administration to go after Gerald Walpin personally, it looks as if the scandal that the former IG was trying to investigate, as well as the cover-up, may be collapsing under its own weight. Until a few months Walpin was the Inspector General for AmeriCorps. He claims he was fired because he made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Michelle Obama (FOO) Kevin Johnson, former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of AmeriCorps funds. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration trashed Walpin hinting that he was...

The Obama Administration remains addicted to the "Chicago Way" of hardball politics. One of the clearest examples was last June's firing by the White House of Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the government service program AmeriCorps. Mr. Walpin complained at the time his ouster was due to his dogged investigation of misspent AmeriCorps money in a program run by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a major Obama backer. Mr. Walpin's firing by the White House was done in direct contravention of a 2008 law meant to protect inspectors general from political retribution. Mr. Obama himself co-sponsored the law as a Senator....

Oversight: After an unjust firing and campaign of character assassination, the former AmeriCorps inspector general has been cleared of acting improperly. Now where does he go to get his job and reputation back? On June 10, Gerald Walpin was fired with one hour's notice as the watchdog of AmeriCorps in violation of a federal law requiring Congress to be given a heads-up 30 days in advance. He then fell victim to a campaign of character assassination. When pressed for a reason for the sudden and improper dismissal of a federal watchdog, the White House responded with a letter to Sens....

On Friday a report was issued by two Republican Senators contending that the Obama White House was politically motivated when it fired inspector general Gerald Walpin after his 2008 investigation of Kevin Johnson, now Sacramento's mayor. The report by Senators Issa and Grassley criticizes the White House ethics counsel, for not examining what Walpin had been investigating at the time of his dismissal, including the allegations of sexual misconduct by Johnson and hush-money used to cover up the misconduct. The report asserted that Michelle Rhee, now Johnson's fiancee, made the payoffs. New Documents show that immediately after Mr. Walpin was...

More allegations that Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson was protected by the Obama Administration released today. Did the Obama Administration cover-up sexual misconduct charges for Mayor Johnson, in order to save his election, and the Capitol City millions of federal dollars? A joint report released today by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Senate Finance Committee Republican offers new insight into the political maneuvering at the White House to remove the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) Gerald Walpin and revealed explosive allegations (see pages 24-30 of Just Released Walpin Referral Document) of...

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 Oversight and Government Reform. The investigation also found evidence that D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee 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...

A congressional investigation of the volunteer organization AmeriCorps contains charges that D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee handled "damage control" after allegations of sexual misconduct against her now fiance, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA star and a prominent ally of President Obama, The Washington Examiner has learned. The charges are contained in a report prepared by Sen. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, and Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The investigation began after the AmeriCorps inspector general, Gerald Walpin, received reports that Johnson had misused some...

Despite the efforts of Obama administration to go after Gerald Walpin personally, it looks as if the scandal that the former IG was trying to investigate may be bursting out of its cover -up. Until a few months Wolpin was the inspector general for AmeriCorps. He claims he was fired because he made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Obama (FOB), Kevin Johnson former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of AmeriCorps funds. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration trashed Walpin hinting that he was in the early stages of...

AmeriCorps Inspector General Shredded White House Documents at Request of Agency’s Spokeswoman Thursday, November 12, 2009 By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer (CNSNews.com) – The acting inspector general of AmeriCorps said he shredded White House documents at the request of an agency press spokeswoman that pertained to the controversial firing of the previous inspector general, who was ousted after investigating a political ally of President Obama. The e-mail message from agency spokeswoman Ranit Schmelzer seemed urgent, as she wrote: “WH documents were sent in error. Can you please destroy them? And can you confirm you receive this e-mail?” Acting IG Kenneth...

Federal officials said Tuesday there was not enough evidence to support allegations that the e-mails were intentionally deleted while Johnson's nonprofit organization was being probed by federal Inspector General Gerald Walpin. The decision appears to put to rest a controversy that has dogged Johnson since Walpin's investigation into St. HOPE's use of federal grant money first became public in April 2008. "We're pleased that the FBI has determined what we knew all along – that there was no intentional wrongdoing by the mayor or anyone at St. HOPE," said mayoral spokesman Steve Maviglio. "It's time for this book to be...

This nasty administration spent much time going after Gerald Walpin personally, who until a few months ago was the inspector general for AmeriCorps. Walpin claims he was fired because he made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Obama (FOB), Kevin Johnson former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of AmeriCorps funds. Because he was investigating the President's friend, Walpin, whose position as an inspector general is supposed to be protected from political appointees and the White House, was fired. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration trashed Walpin hinting that he...

Well before Gerald Walpin was fired as the inspector general of AmeriCorps, government documents show that he and the agency’s management did not get along, to say the least. Documents obtained by CNSNews.com through a Freedom of Information Act request, including e-mails, letters and memos, demonstrate a confrontational relationship between the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the agency that runs AmeriCorps, and its inspector general, whose ouster in June prompted questions from Congress. A corporation board member wanted to “let the record reflect” what he says was Walpin’s confusion at a Mar. 20 board meeting, the member’s notes...

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley has blocked the ambassadorial nomination of Alan Solomont, currently chairman of the board of the government agency that oversees AmeriCorps, in retaliation for what Grassley says is the administration's stonewalling of Congress over documents relating to the firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin. Specifically, Grassley has sought, and been denied, information relating to the White House's role in the decision to fire Walpin. Solomont, a major Democratic donor, is chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which includes AmeriCorps. His term ends in October, and President Obama has nominated him to be U.S....

This nasty administration spent much time going after Gerald Walpin, who until a few weeks ago was the inspector general for AmeriCorps. Walpin's claim was that he was fired because he made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Obama (FOB), Kevin Johnson former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of AmeriCorps funds. Because he was investigating the president's friends, Walpin, whose position as an inspector general is supposed to be protected from political appointees and the White House, was fired. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration said the IG seemed...

Until recently Gerald Walpin,was the inspector general for AmeriCorps. Walpin made the mistake of Investigation a friend of Obama (FOB), Kevin Johnson former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California, for the misuse of AmeriCorps. Because he was investigating the president's friend, Walpin, whose position as an inspector general is supposed to be protected from political appointees and the White House, was fired. Pressed for a reasoning for the dismissal the Administration said the IG seemed "disoriented" at one meeting. Walpin fought against the slander. He said that the Bully-in-Chief's explanation for firing him was a "total lie"...

Gerald Walpin has not taken his dismissal as Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service lying down yet, and apparently doesn’t plan to go quietly soon, either. Walpin filed a lawsuit against the CNCS for unlawful termination. He accuses the parent agency of AmeriCorps, and indirectly the administration, of politicizing his office and removing him illegally because he refused to agree to a settlement in a fraud case that let an Obama backer off the hook and with access to federal funding: Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general who was summarily fired in June amid controversy over...

The chairman of the board that convinced President Obama to fire its inspector general last month complained that Gerald Walpin was creating too much friction with agency administrators, according to notes from a May meeting obtained by FOXNews.com. The account adds a vital new layer to the explanation the White House gave for the firing, which made only passing reference to such concerns in justifying the removal of Walpin, former IG for the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the volunteer service AmeriCorps. The official explanation emphasized Walpin's personal behavior at the May 20 meeting. The informal meeting...

Documents Detail Case for Walpin's Dismissal Documents delivered to lawmakers this week expose a frequently confrontational and petty relationship over the past several years between officials at the Corporation for National and Community Service and the group's inspector general, Gerald Walpin. President Obama fired the Bush appointee last month, citing a lack of confidence. Former Corporation for National and Community Service Inspector General Gerald Walpin. (AP)Lawmakers almost immediately raised concerns with the dismissal, suggesting the White House failed to follow proper procedure in removing the Bush appointee and did not provide adequate reasons for the dismissal. The White House outlined...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Republican senators asked Monday for a congressional hearing to look at whether President Barack Obama acted appropriately when he fired the national service agency's inspector general earlier this month. Sens. Mike Enzi of Wyoming and Orrin Hatch of Utah said they were concerned about "significant questions raised regarding the propriety of the decision to remove the IG." Obama fired Gerald Walpin, the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other programs that are part of the Corporation for National Community Service, saying he had lost confidence in him. The firing followed an investigation by Walpin finding misuse...

As previously reported by The New American on June 12, President Barack Obama has fired Gerald Walpin, the inspector general who found out that Americorps funds were being misused at Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s St. HOPE Academy. Administration officials tried to strong arm Walpin into leaving quietly, but he would not acquiesce. Obama then claimed that he had lost confidence in Walpin and dismissed him, not even caring that it gave the appearance of punishing Walpin for catching a big Obama supporter in wrongdoing. The administration did attempt to characterize Walpin as being confused, disoriented, and unable to answer questions...

Gerald Walpin, the former AmeriCorps inspector general who was fired after appearing confused at a meeting, has some pretty important friends coming to his defense. Some 145 of them, including political foes, have written Congress and the White House to refute attacks on his integrity in the controversy over why he was fired by the Obama administration. "We have never seen Mr. Walpin to be 'confused, disoriented, [or] unable to answer questions,' " wrote the 145, who include former federal judges and even Democrats like Bernie Nussbaum, former President Clinton's first White House counsel. Walpin was a Bush pick who,...

Allies and former colleagues of Gerald Walpin, the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service fired by President Obama, are mounting an aggressive defense of his integrity and competency. A bipartisan group of 145 current and former public officials, U.S. attorneys and legal scholars signed a letter vouching for his competency. The June 23 letter was sent to White House Counsel Gregory Craig, as well as the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Government Oversight panel. “We have known Gerald Walpin as a...

One of the mysteries surrounding President Obama's firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin is what prompted the White House, supported by the board of directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps, to try to get rid of Walpin so quickly and quietly? On the evening of Wednesday, June 10, an official of the White House counsel's office called Walpin to tell him he had one hour to resign or be fired. The action flew in the face of a law (sponsored by Barack Obama when he was a senator) that requires the president to...

Former Inspector General Gerald Walpin's determination to investigate further the alleged misuse of AmeriCorps funds may have led President Obama to fire him, a Republican member of the board overseeing the volunteer agency alleged to a Washington newspaper.

Former AmeriCorps watchdog Gerald Walpin is only the first – yet still the most controversial – of three inspectors general to leave their posts prematurely since President Obama took office, and now he's asking for a congressional hearing into his suspicious firing by the White House. As WND has reported, inspectors general are supposed to be protected from political interference so they can root out fraud and waste of government grant money wherever it may lie. Questions have been raised, however, about the White House's firing of Walpin and have been further exacerbated by the subsequent resignation of Amtrak's watchdog...

The following video log shows how Obama used and plans to use community organizing to change America while answering the question why IG Gerald Walpin was fired. Here are the uncontested undisputed facts regarding the scandal of President Obama’s firing of inspector general of the AmeriCorps program, Gerald Walpin: Walpin, doing his duty as AmeriCorps IG filed investigative findings accusing prominent Obama supporter Kevin Johnson Mayor of Sacramento California and former NBA star of misusing AmeriCorps grant money. Johnson subsequently worked out a deal with the Sacramento U.S. Attorney to pay back more than $400,000 of that grant money, that’s...

It has been documented that Barack Obama has committed various impeachable offenses. But one single violation of the law stands alone as the one that could bring about his downfall. The key is if and when liberals rediscover their conscience.

President Barack Obama (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) – The ousted inspector general who reported that his office found misuse of AmeriCorps funds granted to a charity run by a political ally of President Barack Obama sees an assault on the institution of government watchdogs, noting that besides himself, the inspectors general in both the Treasury Department and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have faced reported hurdles in doing their jobs. He says he wants Congress to hold a hearing on his firing. “I certainly don’t know the facts about any of the other IGs. But I don’t think you can find in the history of IGs such an administration attack on...

President Obama's excuses for firing AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin look weaker every day. The FBI has opened an investigation into a Sacramento program formerly run by a close ally of President Obama's, giving credence to the IG's work.

We use Orwell, Orwellian, and Orwellianism loosely a lot these days, but what is going on in the Obama administration is beginning to get a little creepy and resembles a lot of things Orwell wrote about in 1984. When in, Soviet fashion, a critical overseer is dismissed as being "confused" and suffering mental problems in carrying out the law, as Gerald Walpin probably did in uncovering waste and possible fraud in connection with the mayor of Sacramento; or when the government begins to create new words like "overseas contingency operations" and "man-made catastrophes"; or when Justice Sotomayor says that a Latina is...

Oversight: If the White House really believes that AmeriCorps' inspector general was "confused" and "disoriented," how about open congressional hearings where the American people can see for themselves?The storm that erupted after the firing with one hour's notice of Gerald Walpin, the inspector general overseeing AmeriCorps, has not died down. Pressed for an explanation as to the reasons for the firing and why the law requiring Congress to be given notice and reasons 30 days in advance was not followed, the White House has resorted to old-time Chicago-style political smears.

(p. 26) The decision by the Corporation and the U.S. Attorney to cut out OIG and agree to this Settlement Agreement was injurious to the Federal government as a whole and specifically to the Corporation and the hard-working and dedicated staff of the Office of Inspector General. First, the settlement sends the signal that acceptance of a grantee or its principal as “responsible” can be purchased in a monetary settlement, overriding all evidence of wrongdoing previously found to warrant a suspension, without the presentation of any contradicting evidence. Settlement Agreements are supposed to settle the liability of the grantee and...

FBI Director Robert Mueller's job may be in jeopardy. Word is out the FBI is investigating Sacramento Mayor and former NBA Star Kevin Johnson for his dealings with the St. HOPE Academy and AmeriCorp. That is the same AmeriCorp who had Gerald Walpin as its inspector general for AmeriCorps. And it is the same Kevin Jonson who is a friend of the President. Mr. Walpin's investigation of Johnson is what got him fired. Because he was investigating the president's friend, Walpin, whose position as an inspector general is supposed to be protected from political appointees and the White House, was...

Last week, Obama gave notice that he was firing Inspector General of AmeriCorps Gerald Walpin. As mentioned previously, by law Inspector Generals have to be fired for cause and a 30-day written notice of the firing, and the reason for the firing, need to be detailed to Congress. The purpose of this law (which Obama co-sponsored as Senator) is to prevent political firings of Inspector Generals, whose main job it is to weed out corruption within the government. By all indications, Walpin was doing his job — too well. He apparently was responsible for exposing corruption in some friends and...

SACRAMENTO (AP) ― The FBI is investigating allegations that an executive at a nonprofit founded by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson obstructed a federal inquiry into the group's spending practices. The revelation comes two months after Johnson and his nonprofit, St. HOPE Academy, agreed to repay nearly $424,000 in federal grants to settle an investigation into whether the group misused federal money. Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown said he asked the FBI's Sacramento division to determine whether e-mails written by Johnson were deleted during the earlier investigation.

Norman Eisen, the White House Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, met with investigators on the staff of Republican Sen. Charles Grassley at Grassley's offices this morning. The investigators wanted to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the abrupt firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin. According to Grassley, Eisen revealed very, very little, refusing to answer many questions of fact put to him. And now Grassley has written a letter to the White House counsel asking for answers. The questions relate to a letter Eisen sent to some senators Tuesday night attributing Walpin's dismissal, in...

Walpin: "I am now the target of the most powerful man in this country"(Obama)... Yesterday the President smeared this guy after he was fired saying he was "confused" and "disoriented"....Walpin today responded to Obama smearing him here:

Congress ought to open an investigation, New York Times editorialists should be in a state of apoplexy, and MSNBC hosts ought to be frothing at the mouth. Without appropriate documentation or good reason, President Obama has fired a federal investigator who was on the case against a political ally of the president's. Mr. Obama's move has the stench of scandal.

There's still no cause for Obama's firing of an IG. Now it appears that the White House's ace in the hole is actually a joker. News organizations have tied the dismissal of Inspector General Gerald Walpin to a flap over Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's misuse of AmeriCorps funds. The acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento, Lawrence G. Brown, filed a complaint against Mr. Walpin involving that same investigation. The White House seems to think the U.S. attorney's complaint makes Mr. Walpin look bad and thus excuses the firing. One major problem: the U.S. attorney's complaint has more holes in it than...

After being briefed today on President Obama’s firing last week of Gerald Walpin, Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said the president did not abide by the same law that he co-sponsored – and she wrote – about firing Inspectors General. “The White House has failed to follow the proper procedure in notifying Congress as to the removal of the Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service,” McCaskill said. “The legislation which was passed last year requires that the president give a reason for the removal.”

We have found an exclusive witness who directly contradicts multiple aspects of the official White House explanation for firing AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Separately, one part of the White House explanation treads on exceedingly shaky ground that raises the specter of improper age discrimination.

Last Week Obama fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin- Check that, he called him and told him he had one day to resign. The LAW for firing Inspector General is: 30 days notice - notify congress - give exact reasons A LAW SPONSORED BY THEN SENATOR BARACK OBAMA to protect the inspector from political intimidation so they can investigate frauds Walpin was investigating fomer NBA player Kevin Johnson (friend of Obama, mayor of Sacramento) for misusing federal money for Americorps (just under 1 million) On the HELP legislation there is: Teddy Kennedy, Jackie Norris (Michelle Obama's Chief of staff) - these...

Gerald Walpin, who until last week was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, tells FOXNews.com that part of President Obama's explanation for firing him was a "total lie" and that he feels he's got a target on his back for political reasons. He says he probably won't win his fight against the administration, but he knows he will win self-respect. Walpin says he did his job the way he was supposed to do it and he was fired for it.

Fired AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin strongly denies the White House's claim that he was "confused, disoriented [and] unable to answer questions" at a May 20, 2009 board meeting of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the organization that oversees AmeriCorps. In a letter to several members of Congress Tuesday night, Norman Eisen, who is the White House Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, wrote that at the May 20 meeting, "Mr. Walpin was confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior that led the board to question his capacity to serve." Eisen...

There are now only two options to this story. First, we have a senile IG who is seeking retribution for being fired for perfectly acceptable reasons or we have a president that fired the Inspector General to protect a crony and then smeared that same IG to cover it up. Either way, this needs to be fully investigated. Last week, I wrote about the firing of of the Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Gerald Walpin by President Obama. The firing appeared peculiar on several levels. First, it appeared that the firing was sidestepping a law...

The government watchdog President Obama canned for allegedly being "confused" and "disoriented" fired back sharply Wednesday, saying the White House explanation for removing him was "insufficient," "baseless" and "absolutely wild." Gerald Walpin, who until last week was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, told FOXNews.com that part of Obama's explanation was a "total lie" and that he feels he's got a target on his back for political reasons. "I am now the target of the most powerful man in this country, with an army of aides whose major responsibility today seems to be to attack...