IRS Scandal Stalled – Fired Former IG Has One Explanation

by Tina Grazier

Still holding my breath on when the scandal involving the targeting of conservative individuals and other groups by the IRS will come forward again. Blue is nor my color! I realize other issues have hit the headlines but that’s not no reason for the IRS and other scandals to have stalled. It’s going to be up to the people to keep the pressure on.

A partial answer was provided for me in an article last night by former Inspector General Gerald Walpin who suggests intimidation and fear of reprisal by the Obama administration is likely preventing IRS inspector general J. Russell George to fully investigate IRS cases of corruption and misuse of power. He has apparently conducted an inquiry but not a full blown investigation.

Some of you will remember Gerald Walpin. He was forced out from his position as Inspector General in 2009 over a case involving misuse of funds, a scandal that the administration quickly swept under a rug. Walpin’s story did make headlines on June 17, 2009 when The Wall Street Journal wrote of the “curious case” involving the firing of IG Walpin by the Obama administration. That report included the folowing:

A George W. Bush appointee, Mr. Walpin has since 2007 been the inspector general for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees such subsidized volunteer programs as AmeriCorps. In April 2008 the Corporation asked Mr. Walpin to investigate reports of irregularities at St. HOPE, a California nonprofit run by former NBA star and Obama supporter Kevin Johnson. St. HOPE had received an $850,000 AmeriCorps grant, which was supposed to go for three purposes: tutoring for Sacramento-area students; the redevelopment of several buildings; and theater and art programs.

The money was not used for those purposes according to Walpin who was charged with investigating. Jack reported on this story, as did a few other bloggers and right leaning media, but the story failed to get the attention it deserved. It certainly didn’t attract the kind of scrutiny that we are used to when taxpayer money has been misused and civil servants abused under former presidents…where is the left when tax money intended for the children in California is pocketed or misspent by a presidential crony?

Today as even greater revelations of corruption emerge and we are made aware of rampant abuses of power, it’s pretty easy to surmise that the administrative machine in the various departments thought they had been granted permission to, as the President once said, “…punish our enemies” and “reward our friends”. Blame will not reach the top dog without a few turncoats, however. This president, a community organizer of great cunning has said right out loud what he intended to do while holding the power of the presidency, but there will not be a memo found anywhere with his signature or thumbprint on it. Barack Obama is a force who pumps up the activists under him to inspires their creativity and resolve. Those who don’t wish to participate in his shenanigans or fail to be “inspired” are fired.

Mr. Walpin informs us in his article of several other Inspectors General that have been dismissed for daring to do their jobs:

…Amtrak IG Fred Weiderhold, Treasury special IG Neil Barofsky, and International Trade Commission IG Judith Gwynn all left their positions after disputes that weren’t appreciated by the administration, giving more reason for others to go easy with the administration. Further, the president has significantly failed to fill IG vacancies in important agencies (State, Interior, Labor, Homeland Security, and USAID) – well-documented by former IG Joseph Schmitz — demeaning the importance of the IG position.

This administration’s treatment of IGs is not conducive to active, independent, and objective inspectors general, and explains at least in part why key questions about the IRS still have not been asked or investigated.

It seems obvious that Inspector George fears losing his job if he opens an official IRS investigation that requires actually placing people under oath. His reluctance to do his duty leaves the inquiry in limbo and at least for now, the House in charge of furthering the investigation through continued hearings. The other option, depending on Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor, is not likely and would be risky in any case. The appointment of a special prosecutor would mean that the public would be kept in the dark for years as the investigation dragged on without resolution. What’s left is the ire of the American people. We are charged with making our concerns and anger known to our congressmen and representatives.

Find contact information for Congress members at this site.

If you own a small business you might want to contact them through NFIB.

I hope this reminder of Mr. Walpin’s experience of intimidation, and the knowledge that the Inspector General spot for several departments have been left vacant, will help to further your resolve to get the truth squeezed out in this politically slimy case of IRS intimidation, harassment, and attempted voter suppression (video).