150 Lawyers Protest Firing of Government Watchdog
A group of nearly 150 lawyers has organized to protest the firing of Gerald Walpin, the government watchdog who was unexpectedly terminated by the Obama administration in mid-June.
The group sent a letter via FedEx to legislative and administration officials in the wake of reports that the ex-inspector general was axed because he became confused and disoriented at a meeting, the New York Law Journal reports.
In the brief, three-paragraph letter, Walpin’s supporters note that they have never personally seen the 77-year-old falter in a meeting.
“All of us are unanimous in affirming Mr. Walpin’s integrity and competence,” the letter (PDF) states.
The New York Law Journal reports that Walpin, a former inspector general for the Corporation for National & Community Service, was asked by President Obama special counsel, Norman Eisen, to move on.
Walpin’s firing has come under suspicion, however, because it came on the heels of two reports he issued raising questions about the misuse of AmeriCorps funds.
Signatories of the letter include former U.S. Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey and Bernard W. Nussbaum of Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz.
