Obama’s Americorps scandal President Obama is hoping you won’t notice his abrupt change of inspectors general over at Americorps, the government-run, taxpayer-subsidized “community service†boondoggle (which Republicans helped expand as part of the $6 billion GIVE/SERVE Act in March despite its wasteful track record. Thanks, Republicans). With intervention from Michelle Obama, the Americorps inspector general was given the boot and replaced — for doing his job too well, it seems, and uncovering squandering of funds by favored contributors, educational institutions, and left-wing groups. This Associated Press article only scratches the surface: In fact, there’s much more. This little-noticed story in Youth Today yesterday points to another example of Walpin blowing the whistle on fraud: Obama’s Americorps scandal — and the First Lady’s meddling By Michelle Malkin • June 12, 2009 09:43 AM President Obama is hoping you won’t notice his abrupt change of inspectors general over at Americorps, the government-run, taxpayer-subsidized “community service†boondoggle (which Republicans helped expand as part of the $6 billion GIVE/SERVE Act in March despite its wasteful track record. Thanks, Republicans). With intervention from Michelle Obama, the Americorps inspector general was given the boot and replaced — for doing his job too well, it seems, and uncovering squandering of funds by favored contributors, educational institutions, and left-wing groups. This Associated Press article only scratches the surface: President Barack Obama plans to fire the inspector general who investigates AmeriCorps and other national service programs amid a controversy between the IG and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who is an Obama supporter and former NBA basketball star. The IG, Gerald Walpin, was criticized by the U.S. attorney in Sacramento for the way he handled an investigation of Johnson and his nonprofit group, St. HOPE Academy, which received hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grants from the Corporation for National Community Service. The corporation runs the AmeriCorps program. On Thursday, Obama said in a letter to Congress that he had lost confidence in Walpin. Neither the president nor deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest would give details. The president must give Congress 30 days’ notice before removing Walpin, who is being suspended with pay for the 30 days. Earnest said, “The president will appoint a replacement in whom he has full confidence as the corporation carries out its important mission.†Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a letter to Obama, pointed to a law requiring that Congress be given the reasons an IG is fired. He cited a Senate report saying the requirement is designed to ensure that inspectors general are not removed for political reasons. Grassley said Walpin had identified millions of dollars in AmeriCorps funds that were wasted or misspent and “it appears he has been doing a good job.†In fact, there’s much more. This little-noticed story in Youth Today yesterday points to another example of Walpin blowing the whistle on fraud: The inspector general (IG) of the Corporation for National and Community Service is being removed by President Barack Obama, a week after the IG questioned the eligibility of the largest and most expensive AmeriCorps program, and while the IG was contesting the “propriety†of a settlement made with a mayor for alleged misuse of AmeriCorps funds. …Funding for the largest AmeriCorps program - the Teaching Fellows Program, run by the Research Foundation of the City University of New York - is in abeyance pending resolution of widespread problems identified in a recent audit. Although Walpin recommended that funding be curtailed and that previous funds (perhaps as much as $75 million) be repaid to the corporation, the corporation has said it will take no action on that matter. Walpin concluded that nothing was being gained by the grants to CUNY and that the money was simply being used to subsidize an existing and funded program. I highly recommend that you head over to the Americorps’ inspector general’s report site here. You can find the entire CUNY report here. Let me repeat what the IG found: Waste, duplication, ineffective spending, criminal background check lapses, and repeated violations of the grant rules. And they’re not doing anything about it. Just a snippet from the executive summary: Another recent IG report on Americorps waste by open-borders lobbying group, La Raza (â€The Raceâ€) spotlighted its failure to complete background checks and institute secure financial controls. And on and on and on. And guess who’s meddling in these affairs? Yep, First Lady Michelle Obama: Who’s looking out for you now? Cronies, that’s who. More on the First Lady’s role in installing Norris and intervening to help pick the next Americorps CEO: This stinks. Shades of Travelgate, anyone? The more things Change… *** Ed Morrissey: “Will Congress stand up to the executive branch and protect the Inspectors General? Or will they roll over and allow Obama to accrue even more power to protect his buddies and to allow corruption to run rampant?†*** Flashback on the Americorps/ACORN fraud history, circa 2004:
*** And another relevant flashback on Michelle Obama’s interest in government-directed “service,†via IBD last fall: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_061209/content/01125109.guest.html http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Whats-behind-Obamas-sudden-firing-of-the-AmeriCorps-inspector-general-47877797.html http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090612/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_national_service_inspector_general http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/05/29/charges-black-panthers-dropped-obama/
http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=5d3ffebf614e48b94274 What has Katie Couric, Matt Liar, anderson Cooper had to say about this? ABC? NBC? CBS? CNN? What would they have to say about it if a Republican president did the same?
