Obama Broke His Own Law

[JimJones]

Today Fox covered a story with guest speaker Laura Ingraham about the firing of Inspector General Gerald Walpin. His job as an Inspector General is to weed out fraud, waste, and corruption. Walpin had sent out two of his agents to investigated Saint Hopes Academy.

Kevin Johnson an ex-basketball star, an Obama campaign contributor, an Obama friend on the courts, and now the Democratic Sacramento Ca. Mayor had been found to have been misusing funds up to $800k. Also, per Wilpins investigation analyst Johnson misused the volunteers from the AmeriCorp Volunteers Group for his political campaign, washing of his car, took a group of them to New York to help lobby for a charter school in New York. Note: this AmeriCorp Volunteers is a national service program designed specifically to fight poverty.

Walpin was about to release his findings when a White House staffer called him up and told him to resign, or he will be fired. In Wilpin’s interview with Fox he went on record and said he wasn’t given any reason for his dismissal or any notice as required by law.

During the Obama campaign run for President, Obama touted that one of his major achievements during his short time as Senator was Ethic’s reform. Obama co-sponsored a bill named the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 along with 11 other Senators. ((Note: Obama wasn’t the main contributing sponsor but it was one of his bigger achievements’ while he was a Senator.)) This bill as per www.opencongress.orq “Requires the President, the heads of designated federal entities, the Librarian of Congress, the Capitol Police Board, and the Public Printer to communicate to Congress in writing the reasons for removing or transferring an IG no later than 30 days before such removal or transfer.” So in short Inspector Generals are to be given written 30 days notice before termination and a reason for such actions. This wasn’t given to Gerald Walpin, so did the White House break a law that Obama help put into law?

On of the sponsoring Senators of this bill Republican Senator from Iowa Charles (Chuck) Grassley has sent a letter to the Obama administration asking why Walpin was fired.

The Inspector Generals agency was the referring agency but the U.S. attorney office that almost always deals with the referring agency but in this case Walpin said they “ignored” the Inspector Generals office and entered into a plea bargain with Kevin Johnson. This plea bargain as reported by Fox News lets Kevin Johnson off the hook, were he doesn’t have to pay back any of the $800k he misused. What about jail time?

Laura Ingraham called this a “scary, Sopranos, God Father stuff” a “Piano wire moment”.

Obama in his first five months in office has broken laws and ignored the U.S. Constitution. He has infused government into the banks, insurance, automotive and now healthcare. When will YOU the American people going to say enough is enough. The United States power is (NOT) in the government, it’s in each one of us. We need to bring back the term “Power To The People.” It’s these little back stories like this one that no one else but Fox News, a few radio hosts and bloggers are covering. Please pass this on so others can be aware of what ‘change’ looks like.

-JimJones
www.BorderlineIQ.com
Jim Jones (BorderlineIQ) on Twitter

 

[pete]

Not the first time and I am sure it will not be his last

 

[MaggieMae]

There's more to the story than meets the eye. From what I read (in ironically a long piece by conservative pundit, Byron York), Walpin was acting like a dog with a bone, even after the matter had been resolved by the US Attorney. So because of his whining, Johnson got off scot free instead. Excerpts:

Gerald Walpin speaks: The inside story of the AmeriCorps firing | Washington Examiner

But the issue did not go away after Johnson defeated the incumbent mayor and took office. It became far more pressing in late January, when Congress passed the $787 billion stimulus bill and Sacramento officials hoped that millions of federal dollars would soon arrive. Johnson's suspension seemed like an insurmountable obstacle to getting all that money. On March 21, the Sacramento Bee reported that, "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." The issue was explosive. What if there were all that federal money raining down and Sacramento couldn't get any because its mayor had been found to have misused federal money in the past?

As this was happening, the matter was also under consideration by the local U.S. attorney's office after Walpin referred the matter to the office for a criminal inquiry. Since January of this year, the office has been headed by an acting U.S. attorney, Lawrence Brown, a career prosecutor who took over after the departure of the previous, Bush-appointed U.S. attorney. The office decided not to pursue criminal charges against Johnson, but also entered into settlement talks with Johnson and St. HOPE. What resulted was, according to Walpin, highly unusual.

Settlement talks would normally cover the issue of whether Johnson would be required to give the misused federal funds back to the government. But amid the frenzy surrounding the possible denial of federal stimulus funds, Brown wanted to negotiate not only some sort of repayment scheme but also an end to Johnson's suspension. Walpin learned about that during a March telephone conversation with Brown. "He said he wanted to settle," Walpin recalls, "and he said that lifting the suspension had to be part of it because that was the 800-pound gorilla in the way of a settlement."

Walpin was adamantly opposed to a lifting of the suspension; after all, he had recommended that Johnson not only be suspended but be barred for receiving future federal funds. Walpin says that after that, he was cut out of the settlement talks; Brown worked directly with top officials of the Corporation, who seemed eager to work out a deal in a case involving a high-profile Obama supporter and lots of stimulus money. (The Corporation is now headed by Alan Solomont, a philanthropist and Democratic fundraiser appointed by President Obama.)

Together, Brown and the top Corporation brass negotiated a deal. Johnson and St. HOPE would pay back about half of the $850,000 in AmeriCorps grant money it had received, and the suspension against Johnson would be lifted.

Walpin was very unhappy. First of all, he said it was a terrible deal for the U.S. government, because St. HOPE was essentially insolvent and would never pay the money back. Second, he felt lifting Johnson's suspension would dilute the effectiveness of future investigations; why should grant recipients worry about their misconduct if any sanctions can be so easily lifted? In the end, Johnson was not suspended, not debarred, and was probably not going to pay the vast majority of the money back.

Walpin told the Corporation's board of directors of his opinion. He told other officials. And he sent a report to Congress. "I was bringing Congress in to try to get its assistance in putting a spotlight on this," he says.

 

[gr8tone99]

This has been happening since President Obama has been President. Has anyone figured out ACORN's role yet? I know that BILLIONS of dollars are being sent from the US government to an abandoned law office in Loisiana. No one knows how the money is Truely spent as, it is funneled through a clearing house, private entity, so no one can see the books. Read all about it, research it. Let me know what anyone comes up with.

 

[MaggieMae]

This has been happening since President Obama has been President. Has anyone figured out ACORN's role yet? I know that BILLIONS of dollars are being sent from the US government to an abandoned law office in Loisiana. No one knows how the money is Truely spent as, it is funneled through a clearing house, private entity, so no one can see the books. Read all about it, research it. Let me know what anyone comes up with.

I thought FOX always has all the skinny on Acorn. After all, can they get through a broadcast without mentioning the name? But laundering money hidden in an abandoned office in Louisiana? You have a severe case of gullible-itis, my friend.

 

[Sweet Willy]

It appears the guy did a terrible job, failing to even audit this school and failing to provide the prosecutor with enough evidence to go forward. The prosecutor accepted a settlement. Nothing unusual. The IG didn't do his job. He got fired. Looks pretty simple.

 

[MaggieMae]

It appears the guy did a terrible job, failing to even audit this school and failing to provide the prosecutor with enough evidence to go forward. The prosecutor accepted a settlement. Nothing unusual. The IG didn't do his job. He got fired. Looks pretty simple.

[Mayor] Johnson is a sleaze, no doubt, but once the matter was turned over to the Justice Department, there was no need for further intervention by the IG. With California being in such desperate financial straits, I'm sure the City of Sacramento needed the money which might have been retracted. Why punish an entire city for the sins of a crooked mayor?

 

[Sweet Willy]

It appears the guy did a terrible job, failing to even audit this school and failing to provide the prosecutor with enough evidence to go forward. The prosecutor accepted a settlement. Nothing unusual. The IG didn't do his job. He got fired. Looks pretty simple.

[Mayor] Johnson is a sleaze, no doubt, but once the matter was turned over to the Justice Department, there was no need for further intervention by the IG. With California being in such desperate financial straits, I'm sure the City of Sacramento needed the money which might have been retracted. Why punish an entire city for the sins of a crooked mayor?

I agree. I just don't see how this is being twisted into a political firing. For all the evidence I have read, this guy hindered the prosecution of Johnson. He never ordered an audit to provide any actual proof of this money being misused. Happens all the time that when faced with a lack of evidence, a prosecutor will make a bargain. Once it was done, the IG should go about his business. He did his investigation and failed to get the goods. That's the way I see it.

 

[JimJones]

It appears the guy did a terrible job, failing to even audit this school and failing to provide the prosecutor with enough evidence to go forward. The prosecutor accepted a settlement. Nothing unusual. The IG didn't do his job. He got fired. Looks pretty simple.

[Mayor] Johnson is a sleaze, no doubt, but once the matter was turned over to the Justice Department, there was no need for further intervention by the IG. With California being in such desperate financial straits, I'm sure the City of Sacramento needed the money which might have been retracted. Why punish an entire city for the sins of a crooked mayor?

As I know it, the IG usually works with the Justice Department. Also, as I mentioned, the IG in this case was fired unlawfully via Obama's co-sponsored law. He doesn't know the law he help put in place? It requires 30 days written notice!

MaggieMae -thanks for the link, I will read it this evening.