Free Republic

GERALD WALPIN All I know is that what was done was wrong, and it was done, I think, to send a chilling message to all inspectors general that they should not touch any hot topics. LOU DOBBS: Not to touch any hot topics, by which- WALPIN: I mean topics that may be close to somebody who is at the pinnacle of power.

(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...

A video found by Naked Emperor News shows an interview with Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson admitting his close relationship with both the president and the first lady and later denying the relationship.

A top White House lawyer called the firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin an act of "political courage," according to House Republican aides who were in a meeting with the lawyer Wednesday. Norman Eisen, who is the White House Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform, met with staffers for Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday. Eisen, along with another White House staffer who accompanied him, "wanted to talk broadly about inspectors general," says a GOP aide familiar with what went on at the meeting....

The scandal of the week: The White House just fired Inspector General Gerald Walpin after he turned up dirt on one of the administration's pet projects.

Call it a reporter’s revulsion, call it confirmation that a major network has sold out to the Obama administration (as if further evidence was necessary after the way the networks treated Barack Obama during last year’s campaign), call it anything you want. You will probably be correct. The plan by ABC News to broadcast what Republicans say amounts to an “infomercial” pushing the Obama government-run health care program is an outrage. ABC, according to my younger adult son, may as well change it’s logo to “OBC” for “Obama Broadcast Network.” ABC is transforming itself into a state-run news agency, and...

The Obama administration is fighting to block access to names of visitors to the White House, taking up the Bush administration argument that a president doesn't have to reveal who comes calling to influence policy decisions. Despite President Barack Obama's pledge to introduce a new era of transparency to Washington, and despite two rulings by a federal judge that the records are public, the Secret Service has denied msnbc.com's request for the names of all White House visitors from Jan. 20 to the present. It also denied a narrower request by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics...

An official responsible for monitoring how federal funds for volunteerism are spent told FOX News he was fired by President Obama for doing his job, and suggested it was payback for investigating the alleged misuse of grant money by the Sacramento mayor, an Obama backer. Gerald Walpin, who until last week was the chief internal watchdog for AmericCorps and other service programs, suggested "political pressure" was behind his ouster. He said he worried the action will have a "chilling effect" on other inspectors general. Obama gave little explanation for the decision, writing in a letter sent Thursday that he no...