TPMMuckraker
U.S. Attorneys: June 2009

« U.S. Attorneys: May 2009

U.S. Attorneys: July 2009 »

Gerald Walpin

Reagan Fired Slew Of IGs Upon Taking Office -- And Senate GOP Last Year Blocked Measure To Make Firing IGs Harder

Zachary Roth | June 22, 2009, 3:37PM

On Friday we reported that, according to two board members, the impetus for firing the AmeriCorps inspector general, Gerald Walpin, came from the board, not the White House.

Still, just to put a nail in the coffin of any notion that the dismissal represents some sort of unprecedented partisan power play, it's worth considering some historical context. Take a look at this UPI report (via Nexis) from January 21, 1981 -- the second day of the Reagan administration:

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS (31) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (8)
Barack Obama, Gerald Walpin, U.S. Attorneys

John Conyers

Conyers' Wife Facing Scrutiny Over Bribery Scandal

Zachary Roth | June 17, 2009, 2:02PM

Rep. John Conyers, who chairs the House Judiciary committee, has played a prominent role in recent years exposing executive-branch muck, from the US Attorneys scandal to torture. So it's ironic that Conyers' wife is caught up in some serious muck of her own.

The scandal has been brewing for a while, but it reached boiling point Monday, when Rayford Jackson, a Detroit businessman, admitted in a plea deal with prosecutors that he had bribed a council member in 2007, to gain approval for a $1.2-billion waste disposal contract. The Detroit Free Press had previously reported that the council member in question, described in court documents, is Monica Conyers.

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS (2) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (3)
House Judiciary, John Conyers, Torture, U.S. Attorneys

Barack Obama

White House Explains IG Firing -- Will It Be Enough?

Zachary Roth | June 17, 2009, 12:36PM

We knew the White House was going to have to offer a fuller explanation for its firing of Gerald Walpin, the inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service who had clashed with an Obama ally.

And now it has. In a letter sent last night to Congress, reports Politico, Norm Eisen, the White House ethics counsel, wrote that at a May 20 board meeting, Walpin, 78, had been "confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior that led the Board to question his capacity to serve."

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS (26) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (23)
Barack Obama, Gerald Walpin, U.S. Attorneys

George Bush

Miers Testifies In US Attorneys Probe -- When Will Rove?

Zachary Roth | June 16, 2009, 6:06PM

Harriet Miers, the former White House counsel under President Bush, has finally testified, behind closed doors, as part of Congress's investigation of the US attorney firings, reports FOXNews.com.

That raises an obvious question: When will Karl Rove do the same? Rove's lawyer, Robert Luskin, told TPMmuckraker last month that he expected Rove to testify in early June. But today Luskin did not immediately return our call.

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS (18) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (11)
George Bush, Harriet Miers, House Judiciary, John Cornyn, Justice Department, Karl Rove, U.S. Attorneys

U.S. Attorneys

Obama Removes AmeriCorps IG Who Clashed With Ally: Politicized Firing, Or Just Dessert?

Zachary Roth | June 12, 2009, 3:40PM

We weren't sure what to make of the news that President Obama has decided to fire the inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The IG, Gerald Walpin, had been investigating the misuse of federal AmeriCorps funds by a nonprofit group run by Kevin Johnson, a former NBA basketball player and Obama supporter who's now the mayor of Sacramento.

But since we think of politicized firings as kind of our beat, we figured it was worth looking into. So here's a quick rundown on how things got to where they are, based on reporting by the Sacramento Bee:

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS (54) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (67)
Barack Obama, U.S. Attorneys

Cyril Wecht

Wecht Charges To Be Dropped

Zachary Roth | June 2, 2009, 1:40PM

The charges against Dr. Cyril Wecht, the celebrity forensic pathologist and prominent Pittsburgh-area Democrat, will be dismissed.

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, a Bush appointee who had been accused of pursuing a politically motivated prosecution against Wecht, this morning filed a motion to drop the charges, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS (17) | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (10)
Cyril Wecht, Mary Beth Buchanan, U.S. Attorneys

« U.S. Attorneys: May 2009

U.S. Attorneys: July 2009 »

Featured at TPMMuckraker

Masthead

Recommended Reader Posts

Follow us!

Most Popular

TPM Top News