THE MICHELLE OBAMA COVER-UP

...this case has begun to resemble the Travel Office firings that involved Hillary Clinton in abuses of power during the early days of her husband’s administration.

Did White House try to cover up FLOTUS connection to Walpin firing?

Walpingate: Will Congress investigate? Do Democrats ever care about facts?

Sen. Grassley's investigations and the subsequent media coverage have already brought to light several suspicious circumstances surrounding the controversy that some have labeled "Walpingate":

• Prior to his dismissal, Walpin had been calling for action against Kevin Johnson's St. HOPE Academy, which, it has been learned, misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars in AmeriCorps funds. Johnson, a former NBA star, was an outspoken celebrity supporter for the Obama campaign.
  
  
• Even closer to his dismissal, Walpin filed a report critical of what he called "the largest" AmeriCorps project authorized by the Corporation for National and Community Service – a fellows program at the City University of New York – with a price tag, he estimated, of over $80 million. Calling such a large program waste, the Washington Times opined, could not have sat well with the Corporation's chairman, Alan Solomont, who contributed more than $800,000 to Obama's campaign and inauguration.
  
  
• The CNCS is also expected to welcome this week a new senior adviser, Jackie Norris, who since January has been serving as chief of staff for Michelle Obama.

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Obama's newest trick: he breaks his own law (the one he co-sponsored in the Senate)!

Hope and change! It looks very suspicious. The administration has overtly interfered with the IG in his investigation, and now has tried to fire him, apparently for reporting to Congress. If so, then the White House has abused its power on behalf of a campaign contributor and political ally — an act that would make Richard Nixon blush. I doubt this Congress will hold Obama accountable for it, but kudos to Senator Grassley for not letting it go.

The curious firing of Gerald Walpin gets … curiouser

The most corrupt President in our history

Gary Starr of The Neville Awards predicted, one day after Obama's election, that he would be the most corrupt President in America's history. That prediction is proving to be correct: Obama fired AmeriCorps Inspector General for political reasons.

What's behind Obama's sudden attempt to fire the AmeriCorps inspector general?
By: Byron York
Chief Political Correspondent
06/11/09 8:14 PM EDT

There are a number of unanswered questions today about President Obama's abrupt decision to fire the inspector general of the AmeriCorps program, Gerald Walpin. Obama sent letters to House and Senate leaders yesterday informing them that he was firing Walpin, effective 30 days from the date of the letters.

"It is vital that I have the fullest confidence in the appointees serving as Inspectors General," the president wrote. "That is no longer the case with regard to this Inspector General."

The 30 day requirement is important because last year Congress passed the Inspectors General Reform Act, which was designed to strengthen protections for IGs, who have the responsibility of investigating allegations of waste, fraud and abuse within federal agencies, against interference by political appointees or the White House. Part of the Act was a requirement that the president give Congress 30 days' notice before dismissing an IG. One of the co-sponsors of the Act was then-Sen. Barack Obama.

The Act also requires the president to outline the cause for his decision to remove an IG. Beyond saying that he did not have the "fullest confidence" in Walpin, Obama gave no reason for his action.
There are two big questions about the president's actions. One, why did he decide to fire Walpin? And two, did he abide by the law that he himself co-sponsored?

Towards the end of this article York says:

...a number of inspectors general around the government have been expressing concerns to Congress recently about threats to their independence.

UPDATE 2: More information now, from the Associated Press. The White House is going ahead with firing Walpin. The firing apparently stems from Walpin's investigation of a non-profit group, St. HOPE Academy, run by Kevin Johnson, the former NBA star who is now mayor of Sacramento, California (and a big Obama supporter). "[Walpin] found that Johnson, a former all-star point guard for the Phoenix Suns, 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 AP reports. In April, the U.S. attorney declined to file any criminal charges in the matter and criticized Walpin's investigation. But at the same time Johnson and St. HOPE agreed to repay about half of the $850,000 it had received from AmeriCorps.

Bottom line: The AmeriCorps IG accuses prominent Obama supporter of misusing AmeriCorps grant money. Prominent Obama supporter has to pay back more than $400,000 of that grant money. Obama fires AmeriCorps IG.

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UPDATE: Michelle Malkin has the Michelle Obama connection--man, this stinks to high heaven!