Senator questions firing of 3 inspectors general
By Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten | Tribune Newspapers
June 18, 2009

WASHINGTON – — He was appointed with fanfare as the public watchdog over the government’s multi-billion dollar bailout of the nation’s financial system. But now Neil Barofsky is embroiled in a dispute with the Obama administration that delayed one recent inquiry and sparked questions about his ability to freely investigate.

The disagreement stems from a claim by the Treasury Department that Barofsky is not entirely independent of the agency he is assigned to examine ¿ a claim that has prompted a stern letter from a Republican senator warning that agency officials are encroaching on the integrity of an office created to protect taxpayers.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent the letter Wednesday to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner demanding information about a “dispute over certain Treasury documents” that he said were being “withheld” from Barofsky’s office on a “specious claim of attorney-client privilege.”

Full Article

This just got more interesting and worse. Two more inspector generals were fired. It is clear that an inspector general cannot be fired on the spot without a 30 day cooling off period and review. This is serious folks. The firing of Gerald Walpin is the most serious and is illegal.