I really, genuinely hope that this doesn’t turn out the way it currently looks – we don’t need a Watergate sort of scandal given all the other trouble we have:
The government watchdog President Obama canned for allegedly being “confused” and “disoriented” fired back sharply Wednesday, saying the White House explanation for removing him was “insufficient,” “baseless” and “absolutely wild.”
Gerald Walpin, who until last week was the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, told FOXNews.com that part of Obama’s explanation was a “total lie” and that he feels he’s got a target on his back for political reasons.
“I am now the target of the most powerful man in this country, with an army of aides whose major responsibility today seems to be to attack me and get rid of me,” Walpin said.
Facing bipartisan criticism for the firing, Obama sought to allay congressional concerns with a letter to Senate leaders Tuesday evening explaining his decision. In the letter, White House Special Counsel Norman Eisen wrote that Walpin was “confused” and “disoriented” at a May board meeting, was “unduly disruptive,” and exhibited a “lack of candor” in providing information to decision makers.
“That’s a total lie,” Walpin said of the latter charge. And he said the accusation that he was dazed and confused at one meeting out of many was not only false, but poor rationale for his ouster.
As was said in that ill-famed scandal, its not the crime, but the cover up which is the problem. It is almost a certainty that President Obama did not say “give special treatment to so-and-so” – but Walpin says that one of Obama’s people got special treatment, and now Walpin is out. It certainly is a curious thing that the man who found irregularity is out and being slammed by Obama Administration officials – the real problem would come in if what Walpin discovered is a criminal offense and if Obama, himself, signed off on efforts to cover up the scandal.
The really bad news is that with Democrats in charge of the House and Senate, there will be no real investigation in to this matter. Even if public pressure forces a Congressional committee to hold hearings, the facts of life about Democrats make it a near certainty that it would be a white wash…and that means the problem will fester, and perhaps have crime piled on crime to keep the truth from coming out…until such time as GOPers are running Congress and are thus able to conduct a genuine investigation.
I hope someone will hand Obama a copy of All The President’s Men – it might be the most useful book Obama could read in 2009.
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