Warning: You had better not annoy or harass African American friends of Obama, or you get fired.
Let this be a lesson to White Federal Inspector General Gerald Walpin.
Sacramento Bee Tuesday 6-19-09
By Ryan Lillis and Melody Gutierrez
rlillis@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Jun. 16, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is a hot topic in the D.C. Beltway blogosphere, with some charging that his perceived ties to the president played a role in the dismissal of a federal investigator.
Gerald Walpin, who as inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service investigated misuse of federal aid by Johnson and his nonprofit St. HOPE, was fired last week.
In a letter to Congress, President Barack Obama said he had lost confidence in Walpin. White House press officials would not elaborate, saying it was a personnel issue.
That hasn't stopped Washington, D.C., media outlets and political blogs from jumping in, theorizing that Johnson helped pull the strings in the firing.
Under the headline "Walpin-gate," the conservative Washington Times editorial Monday said "political entanglements" were involved in Walpin's removal. Nearly every blog that tackled the subject pointed out Johnson's celebrity status as a former NBA point guard and many described him as a friend of the president's.
It's a story that has been simmering for weeks.
Walpin, a conservative attorney, blasted Johnson's settlement with federal prosecutors in April that called for the mayor, his St. HOPE organization and its former executive director, Dana Gonzalez, to repay more than $400,000 in misused grants. Walpin recently asked Congress to review the case.
Federal prosecutors fired back at Walpin, criticizing his handling of the investigation.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown wrote a letter in April to a branch of the FBI that polices the integrity of federal inspectors general. It asked for a review of Walpin's performance in the probe.
Brown also criticized Walpin on the day the settlement was reached, saying the inspector general's decision to widely publicize his findings before the U.S. attorney's office had reviewed the case was "a decision not made in consultation with this office, I can assure you." He said Walpin "created a lot of noise that was not helpful" and criticized his decision to publicize the investigation during last year's mayoral campaign.
Reached by telephone Monday, Walpin said the settlement was "not appropriate" and was reached "behind the back" of the inspector general's office.
He would not speculate whether the mayor's perceived connections to the president played a role in his dismissal.
However, Walpin did say he thought it was "no coincidence that our report and investigation of Kevin Johnson, together with the special report to Congress which details what we thought were improprieties of the settlement, excited a great deal of opposition from the (Corporation for National and Community Service)."
Just how much clout Johnson has in D.C. is up for debate.
The mayor has referred to himself as "Baby Barack," but actually has spent little time with the president. He was one of 80 mayors to attend a luncheon at the White House. According to federal campaign documents, Johnson – whose supporters include some of the Sacramento region's staunchest Republicans – donated $2,300 to the Obama campaign.
Deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest said any connection Johnson might have to the president did not play a role in Walpin's dismissal.
Chris Young, the mayor's former special assistant, left City Hall last month for a job as an associate under Jeff Bleich, a special counsel to the president. Young said the mayor never asked him to help get Walpin removed and that he was not part of the decision-making process that led to Walpin's dismissal.
The mayor was on his way back to Sacramento from the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Rhode Island on Monday and could not be reached for comment. Joaquin McPeek, a mayoral spokesman, said the office would "at this point have no comment on this issue."
Adding to the speculation was a fax sent Friday from Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley to Alan D. Solomont, chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
In that letter, Grassley asked for information and correspondence between first lady Michelle Obama's office, Johnson and St. HOPE Academy.
Grassley also wrote that, based on documents he reviewed, "it seems that the facts of this investigation were substantially disregarded and the blatant waste of federal taxpayer dollars were handled with a little more than a slap on the wrist."
Grassley cited the resignation letter of former St. HOPE executive director Rick Maya, which was obtained and published by The Bee through the Public Records Act. Maya outlined a list of legal and ethical concerns about the operation of St. HOPE Public Schools and St. HOPE Academy, including a claim that a St. HOPE Public Schools board member deleted Johnson's e-mails during the federal investigation into the misuse of public funds at St. HOPE Academy.
Maya was paid $98,916 in a severance package made official Thursday.
Washington, D.C., media outlets and blogs jumped on Walpin's removal over the weekend.
The Washington Examiner, a daily free newspaper, characterized Johnson as a prominent supporter of Obama, and Hot Air, a conservative blog, said that Johnson's settlement with the federal government was "a sweetheart deal with a major Obama backer."
Power Line, a conservative political blog, wrote that Walpin's firing came down to the fact that "Obama supporter Kevin Johnson, the Mayor of Sacramento" wanted his city to get "its hands on millions of dollars in federal 'stimulus' money."
Before Johnson's settlement with the federal government, a Washington, D.C., attorney told city officials the city likely would be ineligible to receive federal aid while the mayor was on a list of individuals banned from those funds. The mayor was taken off the list as part of his settlement. END
Is this the government you want for America, under Obama?