Thursday, April 14, 2011
The second worst hearing of the week
Not content to blast basic workers' rights today, the Oversight Committee will be playing host to one of its most absurd hearings yet -- and frankly we're still trying to figure out what the heck is going on. On Friday, a joint subcommittee hearing will explore whether environmental laws and regulations are impeding border security. Led by Glenn Beck golden boy Jason Chaffetz, this sounds like a hearing to see if Republicans can pin illegal immigration on environmental protections.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Issa teams with Scott Walker to blast workers
Seems that Darrell Issa's been getting restless holding hearings on Presidential libraries and Freedom of Information Act requests, ducking accusations that he’s used almost a million taxpayer dollars to subsidize his personal investment portfolio, and demanding that the Obama Administration’s unprecedented efforts to improve government transparency be slashed to pay for more tax cuts for billionaires.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Issa called out locally, Brings the Gov Walker agenda to DC
Darrell Issa's attempts to escape the consequences of his earmark scandal hasn't been too effective so far. In his hometown North County Times, he's gotten pinged over his personal profits from taxpayer dollars in the letters section, and the San Diego Union-Tribune has put the kibash on Issa's desperate claim that it's not a legitimate story.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Issa’s odd take on Project Gunrunner
By now it's already starting to become old news to bring up this quote, but it goes to the heart of how Darrell Issa conducts business at the Oversight Committee and how much that's changed now that there's a Democrat in the White House instead of George W. Bush. Back during the Bush years, Issa's line was that "we're supposed to allow the Administration to do its investigation, and then we do oversight -- we're not investigators." But now, despite an investigation explicitly called for by President Obama and begun within the Justice Department, Darrell Issa has gone into full court press over his subpoenas for ATF documents around "Project Gunrunner." According to Issa, the subpoena is necessary because of the "unwillingness of this Administration...to answer questions" about the issue. Except that the Justice Department was already working with the committee and preparing the requested documents for delivery and was subpoenaed anyways. Perhaps Issa decided that getting the documents wouldn't get as many headlines as dropping subpoenas.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Great figures of the 20th Century Republican Party
Media Matters delves into Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Issa protege and one of Glenn Beck's favorites in Congress. With Glenn Beck set to "transition off," having folks like Chaffetz in Congress to keep pushing crazy conspiracy theories will help maintain Beck's de facto subpoena power.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Issa’s muddle of hearings
In an interview with Univision, President Obama said "a serious mistake" may have been made in the Project Gunrunner situation. He noted that the Justice Department Inspector General will be conducting an investigation of the matter and said "we'll hold someone accountable" if a improper behavior is uncovered in that investigation. Darrell Issa continued to press his own investigation independent of the Justice Department, which is at direct odds with his own standard for the Oversight Committee. In 2007, he told C-Span "we're supposed to allow the Administration to do its investigation, and then we do oversight -- we're not investigators." That sentiment hasn't prevented Issa from issuing subpoenas over the incident, it seems that since control of the White House changed and Issa got the gavel, his tune has changed significantly.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Issa can’t escape his own disaster
As Darrell Issa spends his day criticizing the Obama administration for politicizing the Freedom of Information Act process at the Department of Homeland Security, Lee Fang expands on the brazen, partisan hypocrisy that we touched on yesterday with a rundown of the decidedly different tune Issa was singing during the Bush years
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Issa’s new intimidation
Consistent with the established pattern of avoiding oversight of the tens of billions of dollars of missing taxpayer dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan, not holding Wall Street accountable for driving the economy off a cliff, and turning his committee into a Koch Industries subsidiary for denial of science and partisan witch hunts, Darrell Issa will open up hearings tomorrow morning over that most pressing issue -- the processing of Freedom of Information Act Requests.
2 comments
posted by Lucas O’Connor at 3:52 am