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.
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.
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.
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.
Oversight business will kick off after the recess tomorrow morning with a hearing on whether Dodd-Frank reforms of the financial sector have effectively ended 'too big to fail.' Stirring up the necessary acrimony and controversy, subcommittee chair Patrick McHenry refused to allow Barney Frank -- namesake of the legislation -- to appear at the hearing. McHenry, incidentally, has received major campaign funding from the banking and insurance industries and been called out for conflicts of interest after investigating banker bonuses after accepting contributions from Countrywide.
CREW is calling for an Congressional Ethics investigation into the circumstances around Issa's dismissal last week of spokesperson Kurt Bardella.
Issa Watch on Hiatus Indefinitely
The Appearance of Impropriety in Darrell Issa’s Office
Issa responds to ethics problems with conspiracy theories
Issa’s requested DoE loan would have benefited major GOP donor
Issa sought funds via “easy way to end up with corruption in government”
Out of excuses, Issa contradicts himself in avoiding NewsCorp
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posted by Lucas O’Connor at 11:50 am