Team Obama has pushed out another government watchdog

Watchdogs are an endangered species in the Age of Obama. The latest government ombudsman to get the muzzle: Amtrak Inspector General Fred Weiderhold.

The longtime veteran employee was abruptly “retired” this month — just as the government-subsidized [...]

Read More and Comment: Who Railroaded Amtrak Inspector General?]]> By Michelle Malkin, IBED Editorials

Team Obama has pushed out another government watchdog

Watchdogs are an endangered species in the Age of Obama. The latest government ombudsman to get the muzzle: Amtrak Inspector General Fred Weiderhold.

The longtime veteran employee was abruptly “retired” this month — just as the government-subsidized rail service faces mounting complaints about its meddling in financial audits and probes.

Question the timing? Hell, yes.

On June 18, Weiderhold met with Amtrak officials to discuss the results of an independent report by the Washington, D.C., law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. The 94-page report has been made publicly available through the office of whistle-blower advocate Charles Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa.

It concluded that the “independence and effectiveness” of the Amtrak inspector general’s office “are being substantially impaired” by the agency’s Law Department.