‘When Obama did it’: Truth behind Obama IG firing

Several people responded to last week’s editorial (DP-05-21-20) about Trump dismissing/demoting five inspectors general with cries of “What about when Obama did it?”

So here are the facts about “when Obama did it”:

President Barack Obama fired one inspector general (IG) in his entire presidency.

President Donald Trump fired or demoted five inspectors general in roughly two months.

On May 18, President Trump claimed, “I think every president has gotten rid of probably more [inspectors general] than I have.” However, a congressional report released May 12 said that between 2000 and April 2020, only one inspector general was removed from his post.

Obama dismissed Gerald Walpin as the IG for the Corporation for National Community Service in 2009. In a letter to the speaker of the house, Obama stated he no longer had the “fullest confidence” in Walpin, according to FactCheck.org.

At the time, there was some controversy over Walpin’s removal, as the IG led an investigation into Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who was a former NBA player and an Obama supporter, for misusing government grants given to his nonprofit. According to a CBS News report, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded Obama give a full accounting for why Walpin was fired, in compliance with removal requirements to ensure IGs aren’t targeted for political reasons.

Obama complied. And brought evidence with him. In a follow-up letter to the Senate, the Obama administration said Walpin was removed after the bi-partisan Board of the Corporation asked for a review. Board members were concerned after a meeting in which Walpin “was confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions and exhibited other behavior that led the Board to question his capacity to serve.”

In addition, an acting U.S. attorney under the Bush administration had filed a complaint against Walpin with IG oversight. CBS News said the attorney claimed Walpin’s conclusion to the investigation didn’t take all the evidence into account, and Walpin had failed to conduct an audit that would show how much money was misspent.

Two IGs resigned during the Obama administration, each after reports of misconduct circulated. In 2013, Charles K. Edwards, the acting IG for the Department of Homeland Security, resigned before he was supposed to testify before the Senate. According to FactCheck.org, “A Senate panel later concluded that Edwards … ‘altered or delayed’ reports to ‘accommodate senior DHS officials.’ ” The second was Gen. Richard Griffin, deputy IG for the Department of Veterans Affairs, who retired in 2015 amid allegations he had mishandled whistleblower complaints about VA operations.

Compare that to Trump, who fired or demoted five IGs in approximately two months. Each removal strongly indicates political motivation, as all five of the IGs were investigating Trump administration officials or had criticized the administration. There is no comparison between Trump’s retaliation and “when Obama did it.”