Free Republic

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform subpoenaed Obama Treasury Secretary Jack Lew for withholding documentation from Congress in the ongoing IRS Tea Party Scandal investigation. The Oversight Committee accuses the Obama Administration of impeding and obstructing the investigation. “During the past two weeks, President Obama and you have repeatedly labeled the IRS’s strategy of targeting Americans for their political beliefs as a ‘phony’ scandal. While the Obama Administration has so publicly deflected responsibility for the targeting, it simultaneously has attempted to thwart congressional oversight into the matter… the IRS has engaged in a systematic effort to delay, frustrate,...

The IRS scandal shows that those who make decisions must be held responsible. By John Fund Finally, we may be getting somewhere in the IRS scandal involving the targeting and harassment of tea-party groups applying for tax exemptions. At Thursday’s House Government Reform and Oversight hearing, some names were at last attached to some of the IRS’s most questionable actions in the scandal. Back in May, top IRS officials Steven Miller and Lois Lerner insisted that “rogue” agents in the Cincinnati office acted without direction from IRS headquarters in Washington. But Elizabeth Hofacre, who was the Cincinnati agent in charge...

BOOM! FOX News reporter Carl Cameron told Bill O’Reilly tonight that House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) has information that will move the IRS scandal up into the White House. The committee is meeting on Thursday. “What he said to me today was make sure to watch tomorrow’s hearing because he’s going to present the evidence to prove it…. That he can get it right up all the way into the White House before it was all revealed.”

In the summer of 2010, with Republicans poised to take over the House and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in line to lead the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the White House started urging reporters to write negative stories about the congressman’s past, a new book says. New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich describes what he says were the anti-Issa efforts in “This Town,” a condemnation of Washington self-obsession and self-promotion, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Post. According to Leibovich, former Obama deputy press secretary Bill Burton and suggested the reporter look into Issa’s past....

In the summer of 2010, with Republicans poised to take over the House and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in line to lead the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the White House started urging reporters to write negative stories about the congressman’s past, a new book says. (article continues at link)

Republicans on a House committee rejected strenuous Democratic objections in voting Friday that Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner waived her constitutional right against self-incrimination at a prior hearing. The resolution was the first step in an effort by Rep. Darrell Issa of California, the GOP chairman of the House Oversight Committee, to force Lerner to return to answer questions about targeting of conservative groups by the unit she headed. It passed on a 22-17 vote, with every Republican in favor and every Democrat opposed, following an unusually vitriolic hearing. ... Under subpoena to testify before Issa's panel on May...

Last weekend, top Democrat and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Elijah Cummings, said the IRS scandal was "solved" and that we need to move along. Cummings cited an anonymous "conservative Republican" working in the IRS who supposedly came forward to say the White House wasn't involved in the targeting of conservative tea party groups. Cummings then detailed an unreleased interview last week with an anonymous IRS manager who labeled himself a “conservative Republican.” The manager essentially said it was he who started the targeting of the groups and — contrary to GOP allegations — said that the White...

When Darrell Issa called Jay Carney a "paid liar" this week, his critics figured he'd finally gone too far—that his one-step-ahead-of-the-facts rhetoric would force Republicans to rein him in. They figured wrong. For all the polite Washington handwringing over that single comment, the truth is this: Issa’s aggressive approach is just what the Republican House leadership wants. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor singled out Issa for praise at a closed-door GOP conference meeting on Tuesday. Hours later, Cantor gave him plaudits on national television, saying on CNN that Issa and other GOP chairmen investigating the IRS were doing “a fantastic...

A classic case of MSM jujitsu. Yesterday, Darrell Issa called Jay Carney a "paid liar." So did Morning Joe today dig down to see if Issa was right? Of course not. Instead, its focus was on Issa--how he is "overreaching," "overplaying," etc. H/t NB reader Wayne T. The quintessential statement came from Mika Brzezinski, who actually said that Issa's accusation "makes us all want to walk away and ignore" the White House scandals. It's not as if Mika & Co. needed much convincing! View the video here, along with a medley of statements from Mika, Brian Shactman, Joe Scarborough, Jon...

On May 21st, leftist bloggers and columnists were summoned to the West Wing for the purpose of planning the summary execution of IRS Exempt Organizations Director Lois Lerner. Two of the three known to have attended the meeting—Josh Marshall and Ezra Klein–published scathing attacks against Lerner the very next day, just as the IRS fall-girl was butchering a well-publicized 5th Amendment pleading before Darrell Issa’s House Government Oversight Committee. (1) The call for Lerner’s scalp was immediately seconded by Democrat congressman and Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings who stated that Lerner “…should be fired for her role in the scandal.”...

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said embattled IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights and will be hauled back to appear before his panel again. The California Republican said Lerner’s Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination was voided when she gave an opening statement this morning denying any wrongdoing and professing pride in her government service. “When I asked her her questions from the very beginning, I did so so she could assert her rights prior to any statement,” Issa told POLITICO. “She chose not to do so — so she waived.” Lerner triggered...

California congressman Darrell Issa and Attorney General Eric Holder are not friends. Issa, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has pestered Holder about the controversial Fast and Furious gun-walking program for years. His committee even voted to hold Holder in contempt for his refusal to turn over certain documents. During a hearing today, Holder's feelings for Issa burst out into the open when he called the congressman's behavior "unacceptable" and "shameful," and, getting more personal, "too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of Congress."

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, ended the Benghazi attack hearing on Wednesday by stating, “This hearing is closed. But this investigation is not over,” indicating more whistle blower Benghazi hearings are likely due in the future. Following the appearance of State Department employees Gregory Hicks, Eric Nordstrom, and Mark Thompson at his hearing, Issa told reporters he is encouraging more whistle blowers who know anything about last September’s deadly Benghazi attack to step forward and talk to his Committee. Issa told Breitbart News on Wednesday that the committee “reserves the right” to subpoena witnesses for...

May 12, 2013 Darrell Issa: House Oversight Committee to depose Pickering and Mullen over Benghazi Twitchy Staff Darrell Issa reports that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which he chairs, will depose Ambassador Thomas Pickering and Admiral Mike Mullen over Benghazi....

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) paid a visit to Morning Joe to discuss this week’s news surrounding Benghazi — which included the hearing and this morning’s story about the edited talking points. Amid the panel discussion, Cummings spoke specifically about one of the witnesses, alleging that Republicans tried to change his story in a way that contradicted his sworn testimony. Asked what’s next, Cummings (who, you may recall, criticized GOP Rep. Darrell Issa for “politicizing” Benghazi during Wednesday’s hearing) said it was “a search for the truth.” Referring to one of the witnesses who testified at this week’s hearing, Cummings said,...

“Obama never tried, U.S. diplomats died.” Shocking lies by the Obama Administration over Benghazi were unmasked on May 8. Testimony about the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Libya were heard by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led by Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA). Some of what was expected did not materialize. Other bombshells turned out bigger. Clearly, we still do not know everything. Jaw-dropping topics are being discussed by other conservative journalists. First, Gregory Hicks is the only person so far to speak in public about these events who was actually in Libya at...

During today's hearings, Democrats have suggested that cuts to the State Department's budget may have played a role in the lack of security in Benghazi. This claim was addressed during the previous hearings which took place on Oct. 10, 2012.

Hearing details:WASHINGTON – House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa today announced three witnesses who will appear at a full committee hearing, “Benghazi: Exposing Failure and Recognizing Courage,” on Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at 11:30 AM in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. “I applaud these individuals for answering our call to testify in front of the Committee. They have critical information about what occurred before, during, and after the Benghazi terrorist attacks that differs on key points from what Administration officials – including those on the Accountability Review Board – have portrayed,” said Issa. “Our committee has been...

CBS: House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., with new details about the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. 5 May 2013, 9:31 AM PDT 4

Lawyer up, Issa warns CIA staff By Jordy Yager - 04/17/13 08:39 PM ET House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is pushing ahead with his investigation of last year’s fatal attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, by preparing federal agencies to allow employees to lawyer up. In separate letters to the legal offices of the CIA, State Department and Defense Department, Issa said some witnesses on the issue might need lawyers, if their agencies decide to retaliate against them for their testimony. “During the course of the investigation, numerous individuals have approached the committee with information related...