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Republicans say they’ll get top Obama aide to testify — one way or another
Daily Caller ^ | 5/10/11 | Jonathan Strong

Posted on 05/10/2011 11:33:56 AM PDT by markomalley

Top GOP oversight official Rep. Darrell Issa said in a May 9 letter that if a top Obama aide again declines to testify on a draft executive order requiring political disclosure from government contractors, Issa will be “required to consider the use of compulsory process” – a congressional subpoena.

If Issa subpoenas OMB director Jacob Lew to testify about the draft order, which Republicans warn could allow the administration to politicize the government contracting process, it would be the first time the GOP has subpoenaed the Obama White House since they obtained the authority in taking over the House in January.

A source close to Issa says he’s serious. “This will end one of three ways,” the source told The Daily Caller, “one, Lew will acquiesce and testify, two, they’ll negotiate a date in the near future when he will testify or three, they’ll subpoena him. I really think they’re serious.”

The draft executive order implements a provision in the “Disclose Act,” campaign spending legislation drafted in response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that failed in Congress when Democrats controlled both chambers.

Leading campaign spending activists like Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 say the order is crucial to add transparency to the millions of dollars flowing in and out of Washington.

“The Executive Order also would facilitate disclosure and make it easier for citizens to know what government contractors are doing to influence federal elections by providing all of the relevant campaign finance information regarding a contractor in one centralized location,” Wertheimer said at a May 4 press conference, according to his prepared remarks.

But critics warn the new disclosure requirements could allow the Obama administration to punish companies that donate to groups that help Republicans win elections.

For instance, liberal-leaning Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine called the draft executive order “Orwellian,” as Issa notes in his letter.

All companies, including government contractors, are already required to disclose information about which political candidates they and their employees donate to.

At issue in the executive order is money donated to third-party political groups, which in the wake of the Citizens United decision can, in certain cases, be donated anonymously.

The decision opened up new avenues for political spending. President Obama called these new avenues a “threat to democracy” during the 2010 midterm elections, but since then one of his top aides left the White House to launch a group undertaking the exact type of activities the president once decried.

Proponents of the decision say anonymous donations to third party political groups are part of free speech, a way for individuals and companies to exercise their rights without facing potential backlash from political rivals.


TOPICS: Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: 2011; 201105; citizensunited; corruption; cultureofcorruption; democratcorruption; issa; jacoblew; lew; obamascandals; thugocacy; thugocracy

1 posted on 05/10/2011 11:33:57 AM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

Never happen.


2 posted on 05/10/2011 11:35:08 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Under Islam, there is no separation of church and state. The church IS the state.)
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To: markomalley

“Going forward, anytime the American people want to know something that I or a former president wants to withhold, we will have to consult with the Attorney General and the white house counsel, whose business it is to ensure compliance with the rule of law. Information will not be withheld just because I say so; it will be withheld because a separate authority believes my request is well-grounded in the Constitution. Let me say it as simply as I can: transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency,”


3 posted on 05/10/2011 11:37:25 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
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To: markomalley

Waterboard ‘em?


4 posted on 05/10/2011 11:38:40 AM PDT by Jim W N
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To: markomalley

Kudos to Issa for trying to hold Democrats accountable, but he’s got powerful liberal forces aligned against him: the ones we know, like the MSM, and the ones we don’t, who operate in secret and specialize in dead pets, photos of wives and children at the playground, etc.


5 posted on 05/10/2011 11:39:29 AM PDT by American Quilter (DEFUND OBAMACARE.)
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To: ilovesarah2012

Just words.........just speeches.................


6 posted on 05/10/2011 11:39:59 AM PDT by Red Badger (Jesus said there is no marriage in Heaven. That's why they call it Heaven............)
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To: markomalley

If he refuses, charge him with contempt of Congress.


7 posted on 05/10/2011 11:42:09 AM PDT by scorchedearther
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To: markomalley

Subpoena the whole damn Marxist cabal, czars, appointees cabinet and “Da WON”. Its way past due.


8 posted on 05/10/2011 11:45:00 AM PDT by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: ilovesarah2012

You really have to wonder just how truly black a soul must be to utter those words to the entire Nation and then turn around and do the exact opposite. Thank you for posting his diatribe as a reminder to us all of exactly how evil this man is.


9 posted on 05/10/2011 11:51:52 AM PDT by liberalh8ter
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Don't Triple Dog Dare This Cat!


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Save our poor Lazamataz!

10 posted on 05/10/2011 11:56:31 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: markomalley

Perhaps some “enhanced interrogation techniques” could be used?


11 posted on 05/10/2011 12:24:24 PM PDT by NEMDF
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To: markomalley; kristinn; Cindy; Grampa Dave

Jacob Lew IRS scandal bumpity bump bump bump


12 posted on 05/15/2013 5:36:59 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: markomalley

A couple years later and we have :

The president made the announcement in a brief statement at the White House, following a meeting with Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew  and other top department officials in which they reviewed a highly critical inspector general’s report on the practice. The report concluded poor management allowed agents to improperly target Tea Party and other groups for more than 18 months, starting in 2010.
Obama said Lew asked for the resignation and Miller agreed, after being on the job since November 2012. ——Acting IRS commissioner resigns in wake of agency scandal
FoxNews.com ^ | 5/15/2013 | Fox News
Posted on Wednesday, May 15, 2013 6:42:10 PM by freedumb2003


13 posted on 05/15/2013 5:39:33 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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To: piasa

Is Steny Hoyer Aware That The Sequester Was Jacob Lew’s Idea (According To Bob Woodward)?
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 4:08:39 PM · by Laissez-faire capitalist · 10 replies 4/16/2013 | Laissez-Faire

Capitalist
I can’t believe what Steny Hoyer said concerning the sequester cuts. But, according to Bob Woodward, the sequester cut was Jacob Lew’s (Obam’s choice to be Treasury secretary) idea, and the idea was jumped on by Obama.


14 posted on 05/15/2013 5:41:27 PM PDT by piasa (Attitude adjustments offered here free of charge)
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