The curious case of Gerald Walpin

By Biloxi

The ongoing contraversy with the IG firing by President Obama has become a brewing discussion. And now Senator Grassley wants answers from Obama to why Walpin was fired since Grassley was dissatisfied with Obama's letter to Congress on the reason behind Walpin's firing.

The case against Mayor Kevin Johnson had concluded months before Obama acted to dismiss Walpin. But, that doesn't stop Senator Grassley and other watchdog group to launch an outcry of Walpin's firing.

I found this Op-Ed from Salon very interesting about Walpin:

But Walpin, now in his late 70s, is a more intriguing figure than Lewis ever was. A hard-line conservative with a résumé that dates back to the early '60s, he was a curious choice for a position that requires dispassionate judgment and nonpartisan fairness. Although he developed a reputation as a highly capable litigator at a major New York City law firm, he has devoted much of his life to the causes of the extreme right, in particular as a trustee of the Federalist Society and as a director of the Center for Individual Rights, a right-wing law foundation devoted to overturning affirmative-action programs.He appears to have continued acting in those capacities even after his appointment as inspector general. In November 2007, for instance, he delivered a speech at a Federalist Society function titled "Inherent Presidential Wartime Powers -- The Wiretap Program is Constitutional." Then in March 2008, he wrote an Op-Ed essay for the New York Daily News berating human rights lawyers at Yale Law School for pursuing a legal action against John Yoo, the former Justice Department official famous for his memoranda justifying torture of terror suspects.


And who is the Center for Individual Rights?

From Wikipedia:

CIR's primary focus for most of its existence has been challenges to what it regards as unconstitutional or unlawful preference based on race, sex, or another protected status. It has represented members of many races but receives most of its notoriety in challenging programs favoring minorities over non-minorities, often called "affirmative action." Another major focus for CIR is free speech. It has represented individuals and groups, often in university environments, challenging attempts to interfere with speech deemed "politically incorrect." A third focus has been federalism, the attempt to prevent Congress from legislating beyond the powers provided to it in the Constitution.
Finally, this piece of information on the IG investigational procedures according the OIG handbook:

After all relevant information has been gathered, an investigative report is prepared. When there is evidence of Federal criminal wrongdoing, the report is presented to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for use in prosecution in Federal Court. Violations of other statutes are coordinated with State and local prosecutors.

And as you know, the U.S. Attorney office did not file any criminal charges against Mayor Kevin Johnson but did say that Johnson misuse the funds of AmeriCorps acoording to the U.S. Attorney website and made a settlement with Johnson for Johnson to pay back the money that he misused. But, Walpin didn't find that satisfying. The question to answer in this mattrer is whether Mr. Walpin follow the OIG handbook and rules correctly and fully or did his involvement in the organizations that he belong to cloud his judgements and decisions.