In The Hill, a story that should send chills up your spine.
You should recall from last summer, the firing of Inspector General Gerald Walpin by the Obama administration under Stalinesque charges of mental confusion. This apparently because he was getting too close to discovering dirt on Obama supporter Kevin Johnson in California. This case is still ongoing, with Walpin filing a wrongful termination suit, and the White House running interference in Republican attempts to interview the First Lady’s staff as regards the matter.
While all of that messiness is going on, they start playing Chicago politics with another inspector general, this time, Patrick McFarland, the inspector general from the Office of Personnel Management. What should be alarming about this is that it’s a couple of Democrats who are filing protests:
Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) said late on Tuesday that they are concerned about potential actions by the Office of Management and Budget, led by Peter Orszag.
“I am alerting you about a very serious matter that represents an attempt to thwart an authority provided to us by the Inspector General Reform Act of 2008 and that creates a risk of compromising our operational independence,” McFarland told lawmakers.
What’s going on? Clearly there are irregularities in hiring procedures and decisions that the White House is trying to cover up. But when the donkeys start braying about the White House actions, there’s something seriously stinky up.
Towns and Lynch sent letters about the situation to Orszag and Phyllis Fong, chairwoman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency. The lawmakers asked Orszag’s office to conduct an internal review.
And we get the boilerplate answer:
“The Office of Management and Budget respects the independent role that federal inspectors general play and takes allegations of this sort very seriously,” said an OMB spokesman. “The concerns raised by the OPM Inspector General about the possible actions of one OMB employee will be investigated thoroughly and quickly. If any improper interference has occurred, appropriate actions will be taken.”
Yeah. We’ll see.
Tags: Chicago Style Politics, Corruption, Coverup
