Battle lines drawn in AmeriCorps IG scandal

Key Republicans in both the House and the Senate are accusing the White House of giving “incomplete and misleading” information to investigators probing the president’s abrupt firing of AmeriCorps Inspector General Gerald Walpin.

In return, the White House is hinting that documents concerning its actions in the Walpin affair may be protected by executive privilege.

Both developments are part of an escalating conflict between GOP lawmakers and the Obama administration...

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FLASHBACKs >

Inspector General Fired by Obama Wants Congressional Hearing on His Case
The ousted inspector general who reported that his office found misuse of AmeriCorps funds granted to a charity run by a political ally of President Barack Obama sees an assault on the institution of government watchdogs, noting that besides himself, the inspectors general in both the Treasury Department and the International Trade Commission (ITC) have faced reported hurdles in doing their jobs...

A witness to Walpin-gate
The fact remains that an inspector general does not serve at the president's pleasure and can be removed only for a specified just cause.

Walloping Walpin
But Obama then fired Walpin immediately saying only that he no longer enjoyed his 'full confidence', despite a law that he cosponsored requiring that Congress be given a 30-day notice of his intent and a detailed justification for the removal...

Key Obama Ally Says President Obama Did Not Follow the Law in IG Firing
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said the president did not abide by the same law that he co-sponsored – and she wrote – about firing Inspectors General...

Gangster government's grip on the AmeriCorps
The key issue now is whether Congress will permit this latest illustration of what The Examiner’s Michael Barone calls Obama’s “gangster government”...
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