Gerald Walpin, Inspector General Fired By Obama, Files Lawsuit To Be Reinstated

ABC News:

Gerald Walpin, the former Inspector General for the Corporation for National and Community Service whom President Obama took the unusual step of firing last month, filed a lawsuit against the CNCS on Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

Read the whole story: ABC News

Comments

[sactownsue]

Prior to becoming Sacramento mayor, Kevin Johnson stole money. He used taxpayer money for his own personal benefit while he garnered praise and acclaim for his sham operation. Mr. Johnson was placed on the debarment list not by Mr. Walpin, but by an official that works for the CNCS.Mr. Johnson did not appeal his debarment and did not supply information to counteract the claim of misused money. When an attorney hired by the city of Sac said that with Johnson on the list, Sacramento would probably not receive fed stimulus money, alarm bells went off in the city. Mr. Johnson then threatened to sue the US government for putting him on the list. After Johnson made this threat, US attorney Brown and the Corporation hustled to get a settlement that focused on getting Johnson off the list so Sac could get its stimulus $. I bet Mr. Johnson used the govt's desire to get him off the list to his advantage. I bet he worked a sweetheart deal for himself. If you want me off the list, no admission of wrongdoing, won't have to pay back the usual amount (2-3x amt misused), don't have to pay anything out of own pocket (he leant St. HOPE the initial payment of $70,000), can say it was "sloppy bookkeeping". You see, Mr. Johnson could have cared less about being on that list. It wasn't going to affect him at all. That's why he never bothered to try and get off it.

[Raster]

Read the background before you Obama freakazoids start your reflexive Pavlovian maneuver. This may be Obamagate!

[LoveGuv]

Wishing is not a strategy.

[NoahVail]

"Walpin viewed his role … as the investigator, advocate, judge, jury and town crier."

Obviously, we have lots of town criers. Dunno if we need a town whiner, though.

[ObamAtomic]

Whatever,but he Fired!

[Figerre]

Isn't this the guy that Bush appointed before he left? as a holdover? that is what I remember, and if that is the case, why didn't he offer his resignation when Obama came in? or is this why he is fighting it now?

[dennisrs]

For all of you new to this story it was all cussed and discussed over a month ago at the below Huf Post. You all might find it interesting.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/12/gerald-walpin-obama-remov_n_214715.html?page=2&show_comment_id=25594202#comment_25594202

[NOV42008]

This guy wanted to work at home, after requesting that he come in, why? His inability to come into the office should be a flag that he was not capable of obeying, or ability to do his job.

[dennisrs]

Nov42008 what are you talking about?

[amdezurik]

read at the link above

[mrskorn]

Walpin reached an agreement with the agency early this year that would allow him to work from home. The former inspector general said he originally was going to resign before Obama took office because he was commuting weekly from New York to Washington. He notified Bush of his intention to leave, but said his staff convinced him to reconsider.

In the end, Walpin said he worked out an agreement with corporation leaders under which he would travel to Washington two or more times a week, and spend the rest of the time working from home in New York. He said some board members had initial reservations, but they were resolved.

"I never had a single objection" before reading Tuesday's letter from the White House, he said.

[jsgaetano]

Guess this Gooper didn't get the memo that he "serves at the pleasure of the president".

They only believe that when it's a Repuke president, it seems.

[dennisrs]

Not true jsgaetano.

[jsgaetano]

Oh geez, you just totally convinced me.

[FROG1]

so the 8 attorneys that Bush fired are supposed to be treated differently just because it was Bush that fired them???? sounds like lefty fruitcake 'logic' to me

[mrskorn]

what does Bush have to do with this...nothing.

[dennisrs]

Bush fired US Attorneys Walpin is(was) an Inspector General totally different position with different laws.

[jsgaetano]

Yes, they do.

Conservatives believe they serve at the pleasure of the president. Therefore, there's no such thing as wrongful termination. If the president says GTFO, Bubba bows down and says "Yes Sir!", and considers it an honor to have been noticed by so august a presence.

Republicans believe they are exempt from the law... so consider this the downside of having laws not apply to you.

[lisak2008]

That'll work out about as well as it did for Teresa Chambers, who was fired in 2004 from her position as the Chief of Police for the United States Park Police. Even though she's now the Police Chief for the town of Riverdale Park, Maryland, five years after her termination, she hasn't been reinstated and she''s still fighting the USPP's decision.

[JNarragansett]

First off, Walpin was not an "at will" employee but one under contract that required specific steps in order to remove him. Second, one thing that always gets lost in this story is that the Charity St. Hope paid a fine in the neighborhood of $400,000 as a result of this investigation. This charity has been described as destitute so this seems like a pretty large fine for "sloppy book keeping." There is no doubt that this investigation led to Walpin being fired, and this should create a huge problem for most people one way or the other. Either we have a man who was fired for political reasons, or we have a charity that has been strong armed into paying a huge fine that it cannot afford.

[dennisrs]

Was it a fine or a return of half of the money given to them by the Gov?

[JNarragansett]

I think technically it was a settlement since it involved a number of agreements. I'm approximating the numbers but I think $70,000 was to be recouped from Kevin Johnson, but he in turn could collect the same from St. Hope and the rest was to be provided by St. Hope. Whatever the case, these two things (settlement and firing) shouldn't co-exist.

[me4u]

Sounds like the same old political bulls--t to me!

[larmarch5]

This is not an Obama issue, way below his pay grade. This guy's firing was because of misconduct and poor performance. He was counseled about his misbehavior (writing letters to the Sacramento Bee about an ongoing investigation) and continued to misbehave. He can sue, but the NLRB will likely rule against him. People say you can't fire government employees, but you certainly can for performance or conduct issues. There must be documentation showing the employee is given an opportunity to improve. Looks like that was the case.

[dennisrs]

larmarch5 what does this mean?

"This is not an Obama issue, way below his pay grade"

[rollingdivision]

It all goes back to obeying the rule of law. There are specific requirements and a process for removing an AG, Obama ignored those laws.

[blackfriday1978]

In the US, people who brought others to court does not always seemed to be in the rigth. Just becuase this dude is going to court does not mean Obama ignored certain laws or rules. You need to provide proof to support your statement.

[ljc]

The AG got fired?

[Gregor53]

In the corporate world, he would be known as an "at will" employee. Like the rest of us mortals, he can get fired OR demoted and that is life. Move on with your life.

[dennisrs]

The law (which BHO voted for) said 30 days notice, Obama didn't give the required 30 days notice to fire the IG.

[lisak2008]

He wasn't an "AG", which is the acronym for Attorney General. This guy was an "IG," which is the acronym for Inspector General. Others below have already started using your misinformation.

[jsgaetano]

Wow, Eric Holder got fired? When did that happen?

[Billar]

Non civil service positions in both Federal and State governments serve at the pleasure of The President, and Governors.

[dennisrs]

Except there is a 30 day lawrule the applies to IG's Billar.

[TS]

Which was adhered to, that's why the guy was receiving pay without having to show up for thirty days. The requirement was met by placing hi on paid leave prior to his being let go, so the thirty days aspect of it was, in fact, met by the administration. You may not like it, but that is what happened.

[Madmac]

Doesn't he look like Jerry Springer? Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

[ljc]

Yes he does, Ha!

[meede]

Looks more like Roger Ebert than Springer. Maybe he can get hired to do a commercial playing a movie critic!!

[fulanita]

I totally thought it was Roger Ebert. Though he does have some resemblance to Jerry...

[tomasedison]

b-i-n-g-o

[jaschrod]

Obama was his boss, he was Obama's employee, do not satisfy boss, boss fire employee, case closed, next.

[ReedYoung]

It's actually even less personal and more clear-cut than that. Walpin crusaded in the 'Sacramento Bee' newspaper for prosecution, withheld information from his superiors, acting far beyond the bounds of his role as neutral investigator of fact. From 'Brown_let­ter_to_Ken­neth_Kaise­r.pdf' linked in the article:

http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/Brown_letter_to_Kenneth_Kaiser.pdf
[
Although I recognize that a strong IG is necessary to ensure that allegations of wrongdoing are investigated, I believe that Mr. Walpin overstepped his authority by electing to provide my Office with selective information and wihholding other potentially significant information at the expense of determining the truth. I believe that rather than ensuring protection of a respected federal agency, he tarnished its reputation.
]

[lisakaz2]

Sounds like he's a bu$hie but the link here doesn't say.

[GayGrandpa]

Oh but you know it is never that easy.

They will try to make this a case about ageism but in reality the crux of the matter is competency. The issue of mental competency has never been explored carefully because of the ageism charge, we let senators remain who are most likely far from being competency. Same too with Presidents, many thought Reagan was slipping, this was seen clearly in the first debate with Mondale "...when President Reagan engaged candidate Walter Mondale in the first of the presidential debates of the fall campaign. In that debate, Mr. Reagan experienced great difficulty in responding quickly to questions, so much so that his performance ignited an immediate controversy about whether he was too old to be president again."

But the President will keep this on the true issue, competency and that is where sir you are right about your assessment. "The suit takes particular issue with the White House assertion that at one board meeting Walpin "was confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior that led the Board to question his capacity to serve."

[dennisrs]

case closed by a lawrule breaker, uhm.

[dennisrs]

Actually Obama is not his "boss" Congress is, he reports to Congress.

[mitsie]

I read his performance was not good. So let him have his day in court, IMO the result will be the same. He must have something in mind, like writing a book, making a movie, etc. He will get his federal retirement though, even if he was fired.

[dennisrs]

mitsie --Where did you read about his performance can you provide the link please.

[Jaywalkker]

These may help as they were the evidence used to conform to the AG Reform Act (2008)

http://www.nationaljournal.com/img/news/Letter_6_16_2009.pdf
Letter to Liebermann.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/board_letter_to_grassley.pdf
Letter to Grassley

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congressdaily/cda_20090617_5607.php
General background from January to present on Board's thoughts regarding Walpin. here's a link that is the letter written to Harry Reid where the OIG board demonstrates they're concerns for possible misconduct on Walpin's part.
http://www.cncsig.gov/PDF/StHope/ResponseToSenate.pdf