The Norman Eisen story, the workings of the Obama administration

From Byron York:

Walpin was the inspector general of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the organization that runs the AmeriCorps service program. In June 2009, Walpin received a call from Norman Eisen, who was then the Special Counsel to the President for Ethics and Government Reform. Eisen told Walpin he had an hour to either resign or be fired.

Eisen's call appeared to violate the 2008 Inspectors General Reform Act, which is designed to protect inspectors general from political interference. The Act requires the president to give Congress 30 days' notice, plus an explanation of cause, before firing an inspector general. In Walpin's case, the White House did neither. . . .

Eisen told congressional investigators the White House had done a full investigation of complaints about Walpin's performance and the CNCS board had unanimously supported Walpin's removal. Neither statement was true. . . .

In a meeting with Grassley, Eisen apologized for his statements to investigators. In the letter, Eisen writes, "It is now my understanding that I answered a few of the questions inaccurately, although at the time I thought they were accurate. Of course, it was not my intent to mislead staff in any way, but to the extent that I was unclear in my responses, or that my declining to answer questions created confusion, I regret it and I sincerely apologize."

It's not the admission of lying that some Republicans wanted to hear. But after receiving the letter, Grassley decided to relent. "It was clear to me that Mr. Eisen made false and inaccurate statements," the senator said in a statement. "He personally apologized and admitted to the basic factual findings of my inquiry, which was enough for me to allow the Senate to work its will in the confirmation process." . . .