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Gerald Walpin (born September 1, 1931) is an American attorney he who served as the Inspector General of the Corporation for National and Community Service from January 2007 until June 2009, when he was discharged by President Barack Obama.

Early life and education

Walpin was born September 1, 1931, and graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1952. He attended Yale Law School, where he served as managing editor of the Yale Law Journal, graduating cum laude in 1955.

Career

From 1957-60, he served in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General, with a rank of lieutenant.

Walpin was Chief of Prosecutions for the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York for five years, after which he was senior partner and of counsel at the New York-based law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP for over 40 years.

From 2002-2004, Walpin served as president of the Federal Bar Council, an association of attorneys that practice in the courts within the Second Circuit. He received the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award in 2003 for outstanding professionalism as an attorney and for mentoring younger lawyers.

In 2007, President George W. Bush nominated Walpin as Inspector General (IG) of Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), an independent Federal agency overseeing CONS and its service programs, which include AmeriCorps, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) and Senior Corps. After he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Walpin was sworn in on January 8, 2007.

He was suspended in June 2009 by U.S. President Barack Obama because Obama no longer had full confidence in him as the IG. The CNCS oversees AmeriCorps, the U.S. federal government program established under President Bill Clinton in 1993 which coordinates upwards of 75,000 new paid volunteers yearly with a budget US$250-526 million. Many conservatives have contended that the firing could have been retribution against Walpin for being the lead federal investigator into Sacramento, California Mayor Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter, allegedly misusing AmeriCorps funds in connection to Johnson's St. HOPE Academy. Johnson said "I've never talked to anybody in the Obama administration on this issue at all." Walpin had investigated the academy and the use of AmeriCorps funds forwarding the findings to acting U.S. Attorney Lawrence G. Brown who negotiated a financial settlement in April 2009. Walpin sought review of the settlement from U.S. Congress, while Brown sought a review of Walpin's performances from the "FBI division that polices the integrity of all federal inspectors general".

On June 23rd,, a "bipartisan group of 145 current and former public officials, U.S. attorneys and legal scholars" , including Michael Mukasey and Bernard Nussbaum signed a letter stating that, 'essentially the opposite of someone who is "confused, disoriented, unable to answer questions," the terms that had been used in the justification of his firing<ref>.

Personal life

Walpin has a wife, Sheila, three children and six grandchildren.

References

1. ^ Meet Inspector General Gerald Walpin, official biography of the former Inspector General; previously online at www.cncsig.gov/PDF/Bios/MeetWalpin.pdf, obtained via google cache.
2. 
   * Tapper, Jake (June 12, 2009). "President Obama fires controversial Inspector General". Political Punch (Jake Tapper's blog). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
   * Obama, Barack (June 11, 2009). "Letter to the Speaker of the U.S. House" (PDF). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
   * Obama, Barack (June 11, 2009). "Letter to the President of the U.S. Senate" (PDF). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
   * Craig, Gregory B. (June 11, 2009). "Letter to U.S. Senator Charles E. Grassley" (PDF). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
   * Tapper, Jake (June 13, 2009). "More details emerge In President Obama's firing of Inspector General". Political Punch (Jake Tapper's blog). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
   * Brown, Lawrence B. (April 29, 2009). "Letter to Kenneth W. Kaiser, Chair, Counsel of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) Integrity Committee" (PDF). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
   * Walpin, Gerald; et al. (May 20, 2009). "Response of IG Gerald Walpin and the OIG to the complaint" (PDF). ABCNews.com. Retrieved 2009-06-21. {{cite web}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
3. U.S. Congress (December 5, 2008). "U.S.C. Title 5 Appendix - Inspector General Act of 1978 (Incorporating Inspector General Reform Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-409)" (PDF). USAID. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
4. 
   * AmeriCorps is Changing the Minds of Congressional Republicans White House website, 1/15/01. Retrieved 12/5/08.
   *AmeriCorps Rounds a Corner: Service Program Looks to Future After Internal Overhaul Christopher Lee, December 14, 2004, Washington Post.
   * As volunteer programs face cuts, a new debate Amanda Paulson, July 22, 2003; The Christian Science Monitor
   * . (June 2006). "AmeriCorps fact sheet" (PDF). AmeriCorps. Retrieved 2009-06-23. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
   * . (2006). "Corporation budget chart for FY 2007" (PDF). Corporation for National and Community Service. Retrieved 2009-06-23. {{cite web}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
5. Sanner, Ann; Yost, Pete (Associated Press) (June 12, 2009). "Obama ousts AmeriCorps' IG who investigated friend". breitbart.com. Retrieved 2009-06-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. "Johnson: No Wrongdoing in St. HOPE FBI Probe" Deborah Hoffman, 19 June 2009, ABC10 News.
7. ^ Walpin firing continues to simmer Melody Gutierrez, June 18, 2009 The Sacramento Bee.
8. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/allies-of-official-fired-by-obama-mount-defense-2009-06-24.html

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