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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...

TDC asks: If Obama’s friend and Mayor of Sacramento, Kevin Johnson is innocent, why then would Obama elect to fire Mr. Walpin within 48 hours rather than honoring the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act Law which states that firing an inspector general requires 30 days warning and a written explanation to Congress?

June 17, 2009 The White House Fires a Watchdog The curious case of the inspector general and a Presidential ally. President Obama swept to office on the promise of a new kind of politics, but then how do you explain last week's dismissal of federal Inspector General Gerald Walpin for the crime of trying to protect taxpayer dollars? This is a case that smells of political favoritism and Chicago rules. A George W. Bush appointee, Mr. Walpin has since 2007 been the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees such subsidized volunteer...

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...

A Senate Republican is asking for information on any role first lady Michelle Obama's office may have played in her husband's decision to fire the watchdog for the federal AmeriCorps program over his investigation of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa requested that Alan Solomont, chairman of the government-run Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program, provide "any and all records, e-mail, memoranda, documents, communications or other information" related to contacts with officials in the first lady's office. Michelle Obama's former chief of staff, Jackie Norris, is expected to join the national service...

President Barack Obama has fired the inspector general who found misuse of AmeriCorps funds at a nonprofit education group headed by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. The inspector general, Gerald Walpin, had investigated Johnson’s group, St. HOPE Academy, and discovered funds were being diverted for non-approved uses. AP reported on June 12 that Obama was citing his loss of confidence in Walpin to explain the firing. While the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento had criticized Walpin for how he conducted the investigation, prosecutors did find fault with St. HOPE Academy’s sloppy record keeping and reached a settlement. The Academy maintained its...

Oversight: The inspector general for the AmeriCorps program is fired after accusing an administration supporter of misappropriating funds. The only thing transparent in this administration is its cronyism and hypocrisy.After "hope" and "change," transparency was the thing most promised by the new administration. Everything would be above aboard and visible. We wouldn't see things like the Bush administration firing U.S. attorneys for "political" reasons even though it had the right to do so. Enter — or should we say, exit — Gerald Walpin, who until Thursday was inspector general for the AmeriCorps program, that army of paid volunteers soon to...

In an email and fax sent late Friday, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded that Alan D. Solomont, the chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service, provide "any and all records, email, memoranda, documents, communications, or other information, whether in draft or final form" related to President Obama's firing of CNCS Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Walpin had investigated Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's community service organization, St. HOPE Academy, which confessed to misusing AmeriCORPS grants. In April of this year, St. HOPE Academy agreed to pay a $423,836.50 settlement -- $72,836.50 of which would be paid personally by Mayor Johnson....

President Barack Obama tried late last week to quietly fire an inspector general who had investigated a close political ally, a move that prompted attention from several media sources anyway. Obama terminated Gerald Walpin, inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which runs the AmeriCorps program, after Walpin launched an investigation last year that involved Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA player who had founded a community group called St. HOPE Academy. Walpin’s audit of St. HOPE, which sought to find out how the organization had spent $847,673 in grant funds from AmeriCorps, came in the...

The White House's decision to fire AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin came amid politically-charged tensions inside the Corporation for National and Community Service, the organization that runs AmeriCorps. Top executives at the Corporation, Walpin explained in an hour-long interview Saturday, were unhappy with his investigation into the misuse of AmeriCorps funds by Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California and a prominent supporter of President Obama. Walpin's investigation also sparked conflict with the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento amid fears that the probe -- which could have resulted in Johnson being barred from ever...

Obama fires watchdog who barked at his crony June 13, 2009 By Drew Zahn © 2009 WorldNetDaily Gerald Walpin Former Inspector General Gerald Walpin filed two reports exposing gross misappropriation of federal AmeriCorps funds by a prominent Barack Obama supporter and was shortly thereafter fired by the White House, circumstances he told WND are likely linked and others have called an outright illegal action by the administration. "I think you have to look at the facts and the circumstances and reach your conclusions," Walpin said in a WND interview. "I will tell you that [my firing] came only after we...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he has lost confidence in the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs and has told Congress he is removing him from the position. Obama's move follows an investigation by IG Gerald Walpin of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star, into the misuse of federal grants by a nonprofit education group that Johnson headed....

The city of Sacramento likely is barred from getting federal money – including tens of millions the city is expecting from the new stimulus package – because Mayor Kevin Johnson is on a list of individuals forbidden from receiving federal funds, according to a leading attorney the city commissioned to look into the issue. Federal authorities placed Johnson and the nonprofit Hood Corps organization he founded on the federal list last year – before he was elected mayor – following a preliminary investigation into allegations that the urban Peace Corps-style program had misused federal funds. Federal officials said the allegations...

Sacramento, CA (AP) -- Sacramento mayoral candidate Kevin Johnson upset local gay and lesbian leaders after saying he believes marriage is between a man and a woman. The former NBA star made the statement in response to a question during a candidate debate this week. Gretchen Bender, vice president of the Sacramento County Board of Education, says Johnson's statement shows that he is not ready to lead the city. Bender and a half-dozen other gay and lesbian leaders held a news conference to express their concern about the former Phoenix Suns star.

KJ Come Home! : Kevin Johnson turns on the heat for school choice Matthew Ladner, Goldwater Institute Daily Email, April 03, 2008 Former Phoenix Suns point guard Kevin Johnson didn’t consider himself benched when he retired from the game. Johnson, an NBA all-star who in 1993 helped bring the Suns as close to an NBA championship as they’ve ever been, is now jumping through hoops to bring school choice to the nation’s kids. Johnson grew up in Sacramento, California. After retirement he returned and founded a system of high-quality charter schools known as the St. Hope Academies. Johnson turned a...

Questions, rumors and fears spread through a Kirkwood neighborhood today after a police sergeant was shot and killed by a gunman. Authorities continued their search today for a suspect identified by police as Kevin Johnson, also known as Kevin Tatum, 19, whose last known address was in the 400 block of Saratoga Street in Kirkwood. A white Ford Explorer that police believe was used by Johnson Tuesday night was found today in Ferguson. Other sightings of Johnson throughout St. Louis County were also reported.

September 17, 2003, 9:55 a.m. By Matt Cox Recall madness in California has obscured a bare-knuckle fight between the state's neediest students and an entrenched education elite. The students' victory should give hope to parents and students nationwide and guidance to legislators wavering on school reform. Former NBA great Kevin Johnson is a graduate of Sacramento High School, a low-performing school where currently seven out of 10 students read below grade level. The school's continued failure had it in line for state sanctions. That's when Johnson's St. HOPE organization submitted a plan for an innovative charter school on his alma...