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"Staff doesn't speak for the committee," a source on Capitol Hill explained last week. "The committee speaks for the committee." That's the practical meaning of Senate Rule 29, which has been invoked regarding the Homeland Security and Government Oversight Committee investigation into last month's firing of AmeriCorps inspector general Gerald Walpin. The committee's chairman, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, is entirely within his prerogative to protect the integrity of the investigation via Rule 29, which reads, in part:

By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent 07/18/09 9:45 AM EDT Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general who was summarily fired in June amid controversy over his investigation of a politically-connected supporter of President Obama, has filed suit alleging that the firing was "unlawful," "politically driven," "procedurally defective" and "a transparent and clumsily-conducted effort to circumvent the protections" given to inspectors general under the Inspectors General Reform Act of 2008.

Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general who was summarily fired in June amid controversy over his investigation of a politically-connected supporter of President Obama, has filed suit alleging that the firing was "unlawful," "politically driven," "procedurally defective" and "a transparent and clumsily-conducted effort to circumvent the protections" given to inspectors general under the Inspectors General Reform Act of 2008. Walpin's suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, is against the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps. Also named are Nicola Goren, the acting CEO of the Corporation, Frank Trinity, its general counsel, and...

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.

Petition: We, the undersigned, respectfully demand that the Judiciary Committees of the United States House and Senate investigate the firing by President Obama of Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Sign Petition at: gopetition.com/online/28746.html

Then the stonewalling got worse. On June 30, White House counsel Gregory B. Craig warned Mr. Grassley, "These questions implicate core executive branch confidentiality interests." On July 6, corporation general counsel Frank R. Trinity repeatedly refused to answer congressional investigators' questions about the White House's communications with his office regarding any review of Mr. Walpin's performance. "It's a White House prerogative," Mr. Trinity told staff members, according to multiple sources. Asked if he was somehow asserting "executive privilege" -- a privilege not his to claim -- Mr. Trinity repeated his "White House prerogative" line. Told that no such prerogative exists...

Inquiry continues into Walpin firing Senator Chuck Grassley says President Obama has yet to provide Congress with a satisfactory explanation for why he fired Gerald Walpin from his position as Inspector General at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Some critics of the Walpin firing believe the inspector general was fired simply because he investigated Obama ally and Democratic Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson for using AmeriCorps grant money illegally. However, in a letter to the Senate committee that oversees AmeriCorps, the White House claims Walpin was fired because he was "confused and disoriented," engaged in "inappropriate conduct," and had...

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...

Apart from several reports on FNC, and a few on CNN, the mainstream television news media have ignored the controversial firing of former Inspector General Gerald Walpin, who had recently battled for tougher penalties against Obama friend and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson after an investigation by Walpin found Johnson had misused hundreds of thousands of tax dollars granted by the AmeriCorps program to the Johnson-founded St. Hope charity. Over the past weeks, there have been a number of developments, including the opening of an FBI investigation into the St. Hope charity, further casting doubt on the White House's decisions and...

He says ... Obama’s distractions lead to Constitution’s destructionBy Bill Roe He says ... The morning sunshine broke over Washington, D.C., this past weekend. Many Americans watched the sad news in Iran as it came on TV while they listened to the television news shows lamenting the failure of the stimulus packages. A news flash broke in showing the riots in Iran taking place because of a corrupt election where the ballot boxes were stuffed. Sadly, young Iranian protesters were being killed in the streets. Our president told his staff that his children wanted ice cream, so Mrs. Obama put...

We, the undersigned, respectfully demand that the Judiciary Committees of the United States House and Senate investigate the firing by President Obama of Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Sign Petition at: gopetition.com/online/28746.html

President Obama is a bully, he doesn't like bed questioned or crossed. Like most of the bullying kind, he doesn't believe in compromise, if you disagree with him he will go after you with full guns blaring. Just look at some examples of the people who have spoken out against the President and got a smack down by the`Bully-in-Chief: * Retired Teachers and Cops who's pension funds were the primary investors in Chrysler. * The People at AIG who received contractually obligated bonuses. * Bob Basso, the guy who made those Tom Paine videos. * Our Number one ally in...

Byron York, Washington Examiner: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...

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...

The investigation began after the AmeriCorps inspector general, Gerald Walpin, received reports that Johnson had misused some of the $800,000 in federal AmeriCorps money provided to St. Hope, a non-profit school that Johnson headed for several years. Walpin was looking into charges that AmeriCorps-paid volunteers ran personal errands for him, washed his car, and took part in political activities. In the course of investigating those allegations, the congressional report says, Walpin's investigators were told that Johnson had made inappropriate advances toward three young women involved in the St. Hope program -- and that Johnson offered at least one of those...

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-fiancé. The probe was launched after an AmeriCorps inspector general, Gerald Walpin, was abruptly fired...

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...

On Friday, The Washington Examiner's chief political correspondent, Byron York, had another stunning report on the scandal involving the firing of Americorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin. Earlier this year, Walpin was fired in what appears to be a politically motivated attempt by Democrats to silence his investigation into allegations of misuse of $800,000 in federal funds by Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson. The funds were provided by the federal Americorps program to St. Hope, a nonprofit school that Johnson then headed. York's latest blockbuster is his reporting of a congressional report prepared by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa,...

Did the White House overlook allegations of sexual misconduct against Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson prior to his election, saving the city millions of federal stimulus dollars? "The money was given to St. Hope to finance AmeriCorps members, who are basically volunteers that they call members, to do tutoring in schools among disadvantaged students. It's a great program," Walpin told Eric Hogue of Hogue News in July. "My investigation found they didn't use the AmeriCorps members for tutoring; they used them to drive Mr. Johnson around, to wash his car, to do all sorts of janitorial and administrative work which the...

Rhee's June 2008 visit to Walpin's office wasn't her first talk with him. Shortly before that, she had called Walpin, apparently to see how the investigation was going. It was widely reported at the time that Rhee was planning to include St. Hope in a group of educational organizations that would be hired to run 10 of the District's most troubled high schools. "Because she knew we were investigating Johnson, she called me to find out whether there would be anything coming out that she should take into account in deciding whether to contract with Johnson," Walpin says. "I told...