Posted on 03/06/2014 11:15:27 AM PST by jazusamo
VIDEO: 4 minutes - Rep. Marcia Fudge's oral presentation of the privileged resolution on House floor.
The chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus is calling House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to be stripped of his gavel for his behavior at a contentious IRS hearing on Wednesday.
Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday that Issa’s conduct in the hearing — which included cutting off the microphone of Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.), the ranking Democrat — amounted to “an affront to the expectations of the American people.” Fudge also said Issa should apologize on the House floor.
“The American people have the right to expect that their elected leaders be held to the highest possible standards of conduct. Congressional committee leaders are held to an even higher standard due to their unique positions,” Fudge wrote in a letter to Boehner.
“Congressman Darrell Issa of California abused his authority and therefore must be reprimanded to ensure the dignity of the House of Representatives is preserved.”
Fudge’s letter comes in the wake of a memorable House Oversight hearing with Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of the agency’s targeting controversy. While the Oversight Committee is no stranger to conflict, the hearing turned rowdy even by the committee’s usual standards.
Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights before the panel, as she had at a May 2013 hearing.
After Issa had adjourned the hearing, Cummings tried to make a statement, at which point Issa cut off his microphone. Democrats yelled “Shame!”
Cummings loudly criticized Issa’s handling of the IRS investigation without the microphone, calling it one-sided and “un-American.”
“I am a member of the United States Congress of America! I am tired of this!” he yelled.
Boehner stood by Issa on Thursday, saying he was “within his rights to adjourn the hearing.”
The Speaker faced repeated questions from reporters about Issa’s behavior at his weekly Capitol press conference, and offered the oversight chairman a clear if unenthusiastic endorsement when asked if he would bow to Democratic demands to replace him.
“Darrell Issa is the chairman. He’s done an effective job as chairman. I support him,” Boehner said.
Democrats are using the hearing to push the message that Republicans are running the House in a heavy-handed manner.
Dozens of Democrats appeared on the House floor Thursday to demand that the House condemn Issa, a call that Fudge put forward separately in a privileged resolution.
"Chairman Issa's abusive behavior on March 5 is part of a continuing pattern in which he has routinely excluded members of the Committee from investigative meetings, and has routinely provided information to the press before sharing it with Committee members," the resolution reads.
The resolution charges that Issa violated House rules, which say members must "behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House."
Issa has suggested that Cummings, the Oversight panel’s top Democrat and a CBC member, is the one who should be apologizing.
The Oversight chairman told reporters that he had already told Cummings that there wouldn’t be opening statements, because Wednesday’s hearing was technically a continuation of Lerner’s earlier appearance.
Issa also said that Cummings has gone to great lengths to impede the committee’s oversight efforts.
— Pete Kasperowicz, Russell Berman and Mike Lillis contributed.
Who was shut out of the Affordable Care Act meetings in 2010?
Exactly, plus Elijah was informed by Issa beforehand, it was just political grandstanding.
The resolution was shot down, see post 56.
Yep, the resolution was already shot down, see post 56.
We EXPECT higher standards...Miss Fudge. But WE AIN’T GETTING THEM!!! Committee members MY ASS!!! You all should just f#^#$^ing resign in SHAME!!!
I can’t yawn enough for this one...
Yep, the resolution has already been shot down.
I’d give it to Cummings.. may not like where it goes and have a hard time retrieving it but it would be entertaining.
Screw CBC, who in the hell are these jackasses. As far as Cummings, he is a stone crazy and speaks well of black Maryland. Another King wannabee
Denied.
Go away.
Bump.
The resolution has already been shot down, see post 56.
I think one would be hard pressed to find a collection of angry racist morons than the cbc. Will the Mars rovers see the moon flag? Will Guam tip over?
Rush use to play a funny clip of Bawny Fwank spitting all over himself to shut down Republicans at meetings. “The gentleman will suspend!”
Cummings should have been sanctioned for his childish tantrum. And I can’t read “Marcia Fudge” without laughing out loud.
Right on with both comments, the resolution has already been shot down.
Well, his skin IS black... and for some people ONLY color matters... (like the folks at NBC)
Democrats in the Jim Crow south only cared about skin color and Democrats in our day only care about skin color. They are one sick bunch... then and now.
Good - the world seems a little saner..
Never give the leftist bastards anything. Ever.
No matter what concession they demand, even if you think there’s a snarky way to give it ... always tell them to pound sand.
The issue is never the issue. It’s not about whatever they’re bitching about, it’s about making you bow to them. It’s about making you comply. It’s about POWER.
It ain’t the gavel he wants to get his hands on ...
< barf >
Cummings wanted to undo the damage of Lois Lerner pleading the fifth and didn’t get a chance.
Their desperate to stop the IRS hearings before Learner gets immunity.
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