Former Obama lawyer admits deceiving Congress

Remember the Gerald Walpin affair? Republican Sen. Charles Grassley does.

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.

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."

Try that statement with the IRS.