March 28, 2024

Revenge of the Fired Lawyers

Obama Header

The big scandal not a year ago was the firing of some lawyers by the White House in a political move.  The Democrats were upset that then President George W. Bush and his cabinet had some lawyers removed for what appeared to be political reasons, and that was one of the reasons they were going to push for his impeachment.

It seems like this isn’t just a Republican President’s “problem”:

Republicans, along with a few Democrats, have been concerned about the White House’s methods in removing Walpin.  The law requires the president to give Congress 30 days’ notice, plus the cause for the firing of an inspector general.  In Walpin’s case, the White House called Walpin out of the blue, gave him one hour either to resign or be fired, and only later notified Congress, and then without giving any cause for its action. Only later, after a lone Democrat, Sen. Claire McCaskill, said the White House “failed to follow the proper procedure” and requested a written explanation for the firing, did the White House respond. [Hat Tip: Washington Examiner].

I didn’t have a problem with President Bush wanting lawyers that represent him from the same party, and without all the details I’m not sure I have a problem with President Obama having people that agree with him work for him.

However, process is process.  If the White House was supposed to give notice and they didn’t some penalty—even if it is a hand slap—should be in place in order to keep the White House in check.

We must be a land of the rule of law, or else we have much to fear.

(Visited 13 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge