The one violation that may spur Obama's downfall

In my last column I provided a detailed report of various impeachable offenses committed by Barack Obama.  Each one is serious and stands on its own merit.

However, there is one violation of the law that could be the proverbial 'straw that broke the camel's back' when it comes to Obama's survival in office--an act that points to a cover-up of draconian proportions that may well invite the scrutiny not only of Obama's opponents but his supporters as well.

When Barack Obama was a U.S. Senator from Illinois he helped craft a federal law that granted protections to Inspectors-General who often run up against political opposition in the performance of their jobs.  These persons are charged with the difficult task of investigating corruption in government, and they often face fierce political opposition, even to the point of being terminated, for unmasking those behind the scenes who engage in unlawful activity while working as public servants.

Obama and others in the Congress wished to place a wall of protection around these investigators in order to prevent them from being muzzled and handcuffed by politicians who fear that they get too close to the truth.

One such Inspector-General is Gerald Walpin, who was chosen to investigate and audit the government's agency that promotes and coordinates volunteer organizations--the Corporation for National and Community Service..

Walpin was suddenly and unexpectedly fired by Barack Obama.

His termination was against the law.  The very law that Obama helped to craft and pass states clearly that Inspectors-General cannot be fired without providing a detailed written description of the reasons for such a termination and that the written report must be provided well in advance of the actual termination.  Neither was done.  Further, the termination must not be for 'political reasons.'  Again, Obama has yet to explain how Walpin's firing was NOT a purely political move. 

Here are a few facts concerning Walpin:  he is liberal Democrat, he supported Barack Obama for President, he was a key figure in prosecuting Nixon Administration officials during Watergate.  In short, Walpin is no 'right-wing extremist' with an ax to grind regarding Obama.

So, what was Walpin's 'crime'?

At the time of his termination Walpin was hot on the case of a long-time Obama friend--Kevin Johnson, who runs a non-profit organization that received nearly a million bucks from...Americorps, one of the programs promoted and coordinated by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  Johnson had been under investigation for the misuse of those funds.

According to a special report in the National Review:

Walpin recently investigated Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, a big political supporter of Obama. Johnson is the founder of a non-profit organization called St. HOPE, whose objective is to “revitalize” inner-city neighborhoods. St. HOPE received a federal grant of $850,000 from AmeriCorps, a program of CNCS. According to the Associated Press, Walpin concluded that St. HOPE “had used AmeriCorps grants to pay volunteers to engage in school-board political activities, run personal errands for Johnson and even wash his car.” The former executive director of St. HOPE charges that Johnson’s e-mails were deleted during the federal investigation and accuses board members of fiscal mismanagement.

Despite all this, the acting U.S. attorney in Sacramento, Lawrence Brown, criticized Walpin’s investigation and refused to file criminal charges. He did, however, agree to a civil settlement in which St. HOPE agreed to repay, over a ten-year period, half of the grant money it received, including almost $73,000 from Johnson’s own pocket. In return, St. HOPE and Johnson became eligible to receive federal grants once again. Brown seemed more interested in ending the mayor’s ineligibility than in enforcing federal law; the wisdom of letting an organization receive federal funds when it is taking ten years to repay prior federal grants that were wrongly used seems highly questionable.

The report also cites a meeting at which Walpin vehemently chastised Americorps officials for failing to exercise proper oversight of the grants it issues to various organizations.  It just so happens that this is the very meeting during which Obama claims Walpin was 'disoriented'--the ONLY reason Obama has issued to date to justify Walpin's termination.

So, in order for us to get this straight, let's review.  Walpin had discovered shenanigans on the part of Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter and confidante.  Walpin chastised Americorps for failing to provide appropriate oversight of the money it grants to people like Johnson, who misuse the funds.  Immediately he is described as 'disoriented' and is summarily fired for no reason.

As the Review summarizes:

Under such circumstances, the summary termination of an IG appears to any reasonable observer to be political revenge at best — and possibly worse, if it’s intended to prevent further investigation, cover up wrongdoing, or signal other would-be investigators to watch their backs. As is true with the Justice Department’s unexplained dismissal of the suit it had won against the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation in Philadelphia, the administration’s silence is telling.

If a conservative were in the White House, this story would receive front-page coverage, with commentators and congressmen alike arguing that the White House’s actions amount to an admission of highly unethical conduct. Somehow we don’t think this kind of behavior is the “change” in Washington that voters were expecting. But we remain hopeful that the mainstream media will finally wake up and start holding Obama accountable for some of his questionable actions.

If and when the few liberals with integrity in the mainstream media and in Congress start to get their consciences back, Barack Obama may well find himself environed in a scandal that will equal anything we saw in Watergate.

For more commentary on a variety of issues, visit my blog, updated daily, at The Liberty Sphere.