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"ATF served Special Agent Vince Cefalu with termination paperwork today." That's the word from Jay Dobyns, himself a subject of Bureau retaliation, in a post on CleanUpATF. Gun Rights Examiner reported on Cefalu in May of last year--He was the agent assigned to do nothing because he came forward to complain about ATF mismanagement.From Dobyns post:

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Monday accused the White House of using the stimulus tracking website Recovery.gov to disseminate propaganda. Issa released a 37-page report documenting alleged misconduct by the Obama administration in several of its new-media projects. The report documents several instances in which government agencies allegedly promoted administration policies using federal resources.

The new government openness bill that could revolutionize the way Washington operates.PJMedia has learned that today Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) will introduce a new government openness bill that could revolutionize the way Washington operates and force a new level of federal transparency. If implemented, with a single click of a mouse citizens will be able to access traceable, digital information about how their tax dollars are being spent.Issa, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is expected today to introduce the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, or DATA Act. In short, he is seeking...

House Oversight Democrat says he will advise administration not to testify before committeeC.j. Ciaramella – 30 mins ago Democrats in the House Oversight Committee are in full revolt against Republican Chairman Darrell Issa, so much that one Democrat said he will urge members of the Obama administration not to testify before the committee. Today during a meeting of the technology subcommittee, Democrat Gerald Connolly said, “I’m going to advise the [Obama] administration to decline all requests by the Majority to testify before this Subcommittee and the full committee until this matter is resolved.” **SNIP** Democrats object to Issa’s interpretation of...

Rep. Darrell Issa of California, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has found another target in the Obama administration’s policy agenda: energy. Late Monday, Issa released a scathing report accusing the White House of being complicit in driving up oil prices to push a move to alternative energy sources. Among other things, the report — “Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result of Government Action” — accused the administration of restricting access to domestic energy sources, hindering “fracking” technology and hampering the economic recovery by proposing new taxes on the energy industry.The report also says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) coordinated...

In business, you would call it a hostile takeover. Ron Busby, a former small business owner and corporate executive, in 2010 officially launched the U.S. Black Chamber, Inc., an alliance of 80 black chambers of commerce across the country. “Everyone has someone representing them here in Washington, D.C. except for black businesses,” Busby explained in a recent interview with BMoreNews.com. Except, there is an organization in D.C. called the National Black Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1992 and headed by Harry Alford. Now, Alford’s longstanding black business group and Busby’s rival upstart are locked in battle, including a lawsuit over...

Not sure how effective Darrell Issa is with this investigation into the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm Gunwalker scandal, an ATF program that allowed straw purchasers to buy guns, intending to trace them to the Mexican cartels. Mike Vanderbeogh, who along with David Codrea broke this story back in December, isn't assured that the highest levels are taking care of business the RIGHT way. Issa was just on Fox News talking about the investigation, but we'll see.Meanwhile, head over to Sipsey Street for the latest updates on this "worse than Iran Contra" scandal that -- God forbid! -- could go all...

House Democrats Lock GOP Out of Committee Room A bitter divide over Countrywide mortgage scandal. By JAMES FREEMAN Democratic staff for the House oversight committee informed their GOP counterparts today that the majority has changed the locks on the committee's hearing room. While Republicans previously enjoyed their own key to the room, they will now have to request access from Democrats. This followed a bitter partisan argument in which Republicans refused to take down a video from their website that contradicted Dem explanations about a closed-door meeting on the Countrywide VIP loan scandal. As we reported last week, the committee...

Countrywide’s VIP program is the first subpoena target for House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), said a committee aide. The “Friends of Angelo” program, named for former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, has been under committee investigation since 2008 for allegedly granting generous mortgage deals to influential government officials, lawmakers and employees at Fannie Mae. “Countrywide orchestrated a deliberate and calculated effort to use relationships with people in high places in order to manipulate public policy and further their bottom line to the detriment of the American taxpayers even at the expense of its own lending standards,”...

In the latest sign of an increasingly antagonistic stand by Democrats against top GOP oversight official Rep. Darrell Issa, President Obama declined a request for a top economic adviser to testify before an oversight panel about the president’s economic stimulus law. Obama spokesman Reid Cherlin indicated the move will be part of a general policy against top White House aides testifying before Congress, potentially setting the stage for a showdown on later, more important hearings.

Top GOP oversight official Rep. Darrell Issa announced he will sit with the previous chairman of the House oversight committee at the State of the Union, Democratic Rep. Edolphus Towns, in a move he says shows his willingness to move beyond “partisan entrenchments.” The move comes as Towns’ replacement, the newly appointed top Democrat Rep. Elijah Cummings, is staking out a role of combative foil willing to fight for every inch. Issa and Towns got along well during Towns’ tenure as chairman over the last two years, but many Democrats saw Towns as a weak leader of the committee unable...

Darrell Issa and John Boehner Announce Release of Broadcast-Quality Oversight Hearing VideosTuesday, January 11, 2011 WASHINGTON, DC – House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and House Speaker John Boehner announced the release of broadcast-quality Oversight hearing videos going back to the beginning of 2009, moving to fulfill the Pledge to America’s commitment to a more transparent and accountable government. Going forward, HD videos of Oversight Committee hearings, presented in partnership with YouTube, will be available at www.youtube.com/HouseResourceOrg. “Oversight in HD is part of our mission is to shape a government where you can see – hassle free – what Washington...

House Democrats are hiring a top attorney from President Barack Obama’s National Security Council to help lead their charge against Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the committee, has tapped David Rapallo, an experienced congressional investigator, to be the Democratic staff director for the oversight panel, which will be the center of attention for a wide range of investigations when Republicans take control of the House. It’s a job familiar to the University of California-trained attorney: He spent 11 years as a minority subcommittee director, later serving as Democratic Rep....

During the 1-2-10 edition of Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, incoming GOP oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) previewed the tough oversight and spending accountability American taxpayers deserve...and will be delivered by the new House Republican Majority in Congress. Yea baby! Here is the 15 minute video clip.

Rep. Darrell Issa is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months of what promises to be a high profile chairmanship of the top oversight committee in Congress. According to an outline of the committee’s hearing topics obtained by POLITICO, the House Oversight and Government Reform is also planning to investigate how regulation impacts job creation, the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the foreclosure crisis; recalls at the Food and Drug Administration and the failure of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to agree on the...

Rep. Darrell Issa is finally getting what he has long craved: subpoena power. From his new perch atop the committee responsible for oversight investigations, the California Republican will be able to demand any document he wishes and summon anybody to appear before him - no small thing for a man who recently referred to President Obama as "one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times." Even so, there's one thing Issa says he won't subpoena: Barack Obama's birth certificate. "Mine is not the committee that asks where the president was born," Issa said in an interview. "It doesn't ask...

Ethics: You may never have heard of Rep. Darrell Issa, but you will soon. Republicans have tasked him with cleaning up four years of Democratic misrule and misconduct. It's a big job, but somebody simply must do it. For proof, look no further than Tuesday's dirty debacle with Rep. Charles Rangel, who walked out of a congressional hearing before being found guilty by the House ethics committee on 11 of 13 charges of misconduct. Democrats were keen to rid themselves of this scandal before the GOP takes over in January. That let them control the outcome while pretending to be...

With Republicans taking control of the House, Rep. Darrell Issa of California will be part of the GOP leadership. He has already been a thorn in the side of President Barack Obama as the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. (The New York Times called him Obama's "annoyer in chief.") With more power, he will be even more of an irritant. And even with the polls still open in California, he's laying down the gauntlet. "Tonight was a referendum on the Obama agenda and the American people rejected it," Issa said in a statement. Read...

Rush Limbaugh Vents on Darrell Issa ~~~~~~~~ Transcript ### RUSH: Congressman Darrell Issa from California. Congressman, welcome to the EIB Network, sir. ISSA: Rush, thanks for the opportunity to clarify what a half hour of an interview turns into when it turns into one bullet line by an author. RUSH: Let me tell you what it says. The whole story is about you guys wanting to shut down government and how that won't work. It's all about how Republicans really, in private, realize they're going to have to compromise with Obama and you get quoted: "It's pretty clear the American...

PORTLAND, Ore.—Republicans on the campaign trail are bashing the president and his agenda and some are vowing to shut down Washington if they don't get their way. Behind the scenes, key party members are talking a different game. A number of House Republicans, including some who are likely to be in the leadership, are pushing a post-election strategy aimed at securing concrete legislation, with the goal of showing they can translate general principles into specific action. Among the ideas is to bring a series of bills to the floor, as often as once a week, designed to cut spending in...