Report: Fired Inspector General Sues Obama to Get Job Back
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 broke a 2008 law governing how watchdogs can be dismissed.
July 18, 2009
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.
Obama hastily removed Walpin after a board meeting in May in which, the White House says, he was “unduly disruptive,” and exhibited a “lack of candor” in providing information to decision makers.
Walpin has emphatically disputed the charge, calling it baseless. Walpin believes his firing was a result of bad blood between him and the board over his investigation of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter, for alleged misuse of federal funds.
Walpin said in his lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., that the administration violated a 2008 law meant to protect government watchdogs by not interviewing him or any of his staff before canning him.
The law requires that Congress be notified 30 days before an inspector general is dismissed and Walpin argues that the administration has yet to meet the requirements for who should be notified and what reasons must be given.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/07/18/report-fired-inspector-general-sues-obama-job/
Read the report from the Washington Times HERE
The Inspector General Act of 1978 was amended last year and CO-SPONSORED by Barack Obama to: require the President to notify Congress in writing within 30 days the reasons for removing an Inspector General from office. Clearly Obama was fully informed of the requirements he needed to take to remove Walpin because he was a CO-SPONSOR of the bill! He violated the law, even if he did have good cause to remove him (which, those facts will only be reviewed in court). For a former constitutional law professor, he either doesn’t understand the US Constitution or lied when he took an oath to uphold it.
S.2324
Title: A bill to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) to enhance the Offices of the Inspectors General, to create a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen McCaskill, Claire [MO] (introduced 11/8/2007) Cosponsors (10)
Related Bills: H.R.928
Latest Major Action: 4/24/2008 Held at the desk.
Senate Reports: 110-262
Note: For further action, see H.R.928, which became Public Law 110-409 on 10/14/2008.
COSPONSORS(10), ALPHABETICAL [followed by Cosponsors withdrawn]: (Sort: by date)
| Sen Akaka, Daniel K. [HI] – 11/13/2007 | Sen Carper, Thomas R. [DE] – 11/14/2007 |
| Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] – 11/13/2007 | Sen Coleman, Norm [MN] – 11/16/2007 |
| Sen Collins, Susan M. [ME] – 11/8/2007 | Sen Grassley, Chuck [IA] – 12/19/2007 |
| Sen Levin, Carl [MI] – 11/15/2007 | Sen Lieberman, Joseph I. [CT] – 11/8/2007 |
| Sen Obama, Barack [IL] – 11/13/2007 | Sen Stevens, Ted [AK] – 11/14/2007 |
| Sen Coburn, Tom [OK] – 11/8/2007(withdrawn – 1/22/2008) |
The bill includes a requirement that the President or appropriate agency head notify Congress 30 days before transferring or removing an Inspector General. This would allow for an appropriate dialogue with Congress in the event that the planned transfer or removal is viewed as an inappropriate or politically motivated attempt to terminate an effective Inspector General. As part of this advance notice, the Administration would be required to supply written reasons for the planned transfer or termination. This advance notice provision was widely endorsed by the IG community as a useful deterrent against improper intimidation or dismissal. By contrast, the Inspectors General were divided over proposals to create fixed terms for IGs with dismissal only `for cause.’
H.R.928
Title: To amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 to enhance the independence of the Inspectors General, to create a Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, and for other purposes.
(Sec. 3) Requires the President and the heads of designated federal entities to communicate to Congress in writing the reasons for removing or transferring an IG no later than 30 days before such removal or transfer.
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 110-409
Obama only sent a letter to Congress AFTER they questioned the firing of Gerald Walpin.
Gerald Walpin was investigating Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter, for alleged misuse of federal funds(AmeriCorps).
