Gerald Walpin, an honorable and honest man, was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which is the federal agency that oversees AmeriCorps. President Obama fired him recently. Here’s a little bit of background from The Wall Street Journal just in case you have not be following the story:
In April 2008 the Corporation asked Mr. Walpin to investigate reports of irregularities at St. HOPE, a California nonprofit run by former NBA star and Obama supporter Kevin Johnson. St. HOPE had received an $850,000 AmeriCorps grant, which was supposed to go for three purposes: tutoring for Sacramento-area students; the redevelopment of several buildings; and theater and art programs.
Mr. Walpin’s investigators discovered that the money had been used instead to pad staff salaries, meddle politically in a school-board election, and have AmeriCorps members perform personal services for Mr. Johnson, including washing his car.
At the end of May, Mr. Walpin’s office recommended that Mr. Johnson, an assistant and St. HOPE itself be “suspended” from receiving federal funds. The Corporation’s official charged with suspensions agreed, and in September the suspension letters went out. Mr. Walpin’s office also sent a civil and/or criminal referral to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.
So, Mr. Walpin did his job, but the Obama administration was not pleased with that because Mayor Johnson is one of President Barack Obama’s very good friends and supporters. As a result of IG Walpin’s findings, the president fired him. Now, there are a number of investigations going on because this firing stinks to high heaven of corruption and cronyism, and this from an administration that promised us transparency.
Now, Michelle Malkin has found an interesting connection between AmeriCorps and Michelle Obama:
Well, well, well.
Michelle, Michelle, Michelle.
Guess where the First Lady will be on Monday?
Why, she’ll be delivering the keynote address at the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco.
And who is co-sponsoring the conference?
Why, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)!
Yes, that’s the same CNCS that is the parent organization of AmeriCorps.
It’s the same CNCS that last year suspended Sacramento mayor/Obama crony Kevin Johnson from receiving federal funds after then-inspector general Gerald Walpin blew the whistle on massive fraud and abuse of AmeriCorps dollars for personal and political gain.
It’s the same CNCS that then sat by and meekly watched Team Obama and the U.S. Attorney in Sacramento railroad Walpin after the November 2008 election for doing his damned job.
And now, there is no honest, independent watchdog to raise questions on behalf of taxpayers as the Obama political machine takes over the national service juggernaut. How…convenient.
Read all of Michelle Malkin’s post. It’s filled with a lot of very important information.
Americans need to wake up to the Obama Administration’s corruption. They are wasting taxpayers’ money on corrupt and dishonest cronies as if it were their own trust fund bequeathed to them by their wealthy parents.
