WALPIN-GATE CONTINUES TO PERCOLATE

The Obama administration has this uncanny knack of being involved in slow-burn scandals, like sores that won't heal. The Black Panthers case involving voter intimidation has been going since November, 2008; the Sestak / Romanoff actually started in September, 2009 when the Denver Post first reported the offer to Romanoff.

Now we're learning that the scandal involving Investigator General Gerald Walpin, who was allegedly fired illegally and without good reason last year, is making news again. Unfortunately for the Obama administration, Walpin filed a lawsuit very early on, calling for his reinstatement. The administration went into panic mode over another individual at the heart of the scandal, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson.

Via the Washington Times:

On June 9, 2010, The Washington Times broke the story that AmeriCorps' parent, Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), ignored its own sanctions against Mr. Johnson for infractions admitted by the mayor by featuring him in an honored speaking slot at the upcoming National Conference on Volunteering and Service June 28 through 30 in New York. By June 11 - the anniversary of the firing - CNCS executives made a series of frantic phone calls that resulted in Mr. Johnson being scrubbed from the list of speakers and removed from the website. The remaining questions are: Who invited Mr. Johnson in the first place, and why?

On the same day Mr. Johnson withdrew as a speaker, Mr. Walpin filed a final summation in a federal appeals court explaining why the court should order expedited action on his lawsuit. Even though he filed suit on July 17, and even though his suit is time sensitive because the administration already has nominated a would-be replacement, Judge Richard W. Roberts of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has sat on numerous motions and countermotions for expedited judgment, thus stalling the case. Mr. Walpin's petition for a writ of mandamus asks the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to issue an order for Judge Roberts to rule on all pending motions.

We've all seen our share of judges that do inexplicable things in favor of those in power; Paul v. Clinton is the quintessential example. The judge in Rod Blagojevich's trial denying the defense's motion to subpoena Barack Obama's testimony is another, especially after reading the redacted portions of that motion, which came available to the public due to a software glitch. This judge in Gerald Walpin's case is yet another.

Read it all.