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House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa has drafted a 48-page contempt of Congress citation for Attorney General Eric Holder over Operation Fast and Furious. It now appears Issa is currently moving forward without the support of House Speaker John Boehner. Holder’s Department of Justice has provided only about 7,000 pages worth of the more than 70,000 pages of documents Issa has subpoenaed related to Operation Fast and Furious. Issa and many others on Capitol Hill have threatened for months that they’ll hold Holder in contempt without actually doing it. This 48-page contempt citation is the first official step in...

"Botched." That is the word the mainstream media too often associates with the federal gunwalking scandal known as Operation Fast and Furious—but in her new book, Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-Up, investigative reporter Katie Pavlich fearlessly chronicles exactly why the only thing "botched" about the ill-fated operation was the Obama administration's shoddy attempt to cover their tracks. Having shared office space with Katie for well over a year now, I've witnessed her ferocious commitment to this story since before Fast and Furious was even a thought in the national consciousness. I wasn't always quite...

When Eric Holder testified last December before the House Judiciary Committee about the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal, he proclaimed in his opening statement that the Justice Department had been "fully cooperative and responsive in its dealing with Congress." But later during the hearing, Florida Congresswoman Sandy Adams asked Holder about his communications with his top aides concerning Fast and Furious. "Did you at any time -- at any time -- e-mail on your personal account with Larry Breuer -- Lanny Breuer and Gary Grindler in regards to Fast and Furious ever?" asked Adams. Holder: Ever? Adams: Yes... Holder: I...

During the past week a number of Operation Fast and Furious watchers have been celebrating the notion that Congressman Darrell Issa’s February 14th letter to Eric Holder represents a last chance, comply or else, final offer to the gangster Attorney General. (1) Unfortunately, buying into such wishful thinking will result in nothing but disappointment as the Congressman has shown little in his dealings with the Attorney General over the past 6 months but a litany of empty threats and predictable retreats when they are ignored. During his December 8th testimony before Issa’s House Government Reform Committee, Holder stated emphatically that...

As a result of his refusal to honor House committee subpoenas demanding the release of some 70 thousand Fast and Furious-related documents currently withheld by the Department of Justice, Eric Holder faces the very real possibility of arrest and imprisonment by the House of Representatives. “Your actions lead us to conclude that the [Justice] Department is actively engaged in a cover-up,” wrote House Government Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa to Attorney General Holder just two days before his February 2nd testimony before the Committee. (1) Stating what interested Americans have known for a year or more, Issa speaks of the...

Thanks to Sipsey Street, and then the Daily Caller, evidence is mounting that John Boehner may be surreptitiously putting the Kibosh on Darrell Issa's Fast and Furious investigation. The vast majority of today's show - available for MP3 download or stream - dealt with this subject. http://www.benbarrack.com/show_archives.asp

It’s easy to tell when Attorney General Eric Holder is about to take part in another bout of prevarication before a congressional committee. Just look for a Friday night, White House sponsored, Department of Justice document dump. This time the White House oversaw the release of some 500 redacted emails and other assorted tid-bits, designed as usual to lead House and Senate investigators precisely where the Obama Regime wants them to go in their investigation of the “gunwalking” Operation Fast and Furious. And one of those emails makes it clear that Eric Holder’s DOJ aide, Monty Wilkinson received news of...

Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate's Protect IP Act (PIPA), including Tea Party favorite Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), an elected member of his party's leadership. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who leads the Senate GOP's campaign team, said the legislation should be put on hold, while Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a sponsor and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, retreated from the...

In a move the technology sector will surely see as a victory, a controversial antipiracy bill being debated in Congress will no longer include a provision that would require ISPs to block access to overseas Web sites accused of piracy. Rep. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), one of the biggest backers of the Stop Online Piracy Act, today said he plans to remove the Domain Name System or DNS-blocking provision. "After consultation with industry groups across the country," Smith said in a statement released by his office, "I feel we should remove DNS-blocking from the Stop Online Piracy Act so that...

If you’ve ever watched a beagle track down a rabbit or a bloodhound track down an convect, you might get a glimpse into the workings of Rep Darrell Issa, a Republican from California. Issa is the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. This basically means that he heads the main investigative body used to delve into the Obama administration and their dealings. Because of his bulldog tenacity of not letting go until the job is done, many on Capitol Hill refer to Issa as Mr Subpoena. In an interview given over the weekend, Issa said, “If...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional investigators said Monday that four House members received VIP discounted loans from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the lender whose subprime mortgages was largely responsible for the nation's foreclosure crisis. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, declined to name the four but wrote the House Ethics Committee that it should investigate the lawmakers. Issa, in a letter dated Friday and released Monday, said there could be additional lawmakers who received discounted loans. The most favored customers of Countrywide were known as "Friends of Angelo," who were given discounts in...

During Eric Holder’s December 8th testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Darrell Issa told the Attorney General that he faced contempt of congress charges for his continued stonewalling of document demands of House committee subpoenas and Wisconsin Republican Jim Sensenbrenner added that impeachment proceedings could be forthcoming. But with near complete liberal ownership of the American media and the increasingly supple spine of House Speaker Jim Boehner to fall back on, Holder continued to lie, distort and virtually make light of the Obama Regime initiated death toll of Operation Fast and Furious. Lying is a “state of mind” Holder...

Rep. Darrell Issa wants an explanation from the Obama administration about why Occupy protesters were allowed to put up tents in McPherson Square Park in Washington, D.C., in what he insisted was a violation of a ban on “camping” in the nation’s capital. The California Republican, who chairs the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, complained in a letter Tuesday to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that $400,000 in recent landscaping upgrades to the park had been damaged by the “illegal camping” of Occupy participants. According to a press release issued by his office, Issa asked Salazar to explain “a...

It was a very uncomfortable Thursday for Attorney General Eric Holder on Capitol Hill as he testified before the House Judiciary Committee about Operation Fast and Furious. If it wasn’t clear that Fast and Furious was implemented as a way to push more gun control measures without the consent of Congress, it’s crystal clear now. Continued stonewalling from the Justice Department had Rep. James Sensenbrenner talking about impeachment Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee Democrat John Conyers called for the enforcement of new gun control measures pushed through the Justice Department in July without the approval of Congress, requiring...

In a classic understatement, Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens sent out a Facebook message this morning calling the performance of United States Representative Hank "Guam Is Tipping Over!" Johnson at yesterdays' 'Fast and Furious' hearings 'embarrassing to all Georgians'. Quoting Olens, "Rep. Hank Johnson's performance at AG Holder's hearing was embarrassing to all Georgians."

What is the deal with MSNBC folks being anti-Second Amendment lately? Last week it was fill in host Craig Melvin and this week it's analyst and Huffington Post writer Alex Wagner. Wagner was on Real Time With Bill Maher and when asked about what should be changed in the Constitution, Wagner said we should get rid of the Second Amendment. Bill Maher, HBO: "Let's ask Alex. What would you change in the Constitution?" Alex Wagner, Huffington Post: "Well, I'm going to be pilloried for this. I think get rid of the second Amendment, the right to bear arms. I just...

The Obama administration appears to be attempting to defend Attorney General Eric Holder as the Justice Department dumped more than 650 pages worth of Operation Fast and Furious documents on congressional investigators late Monday. There are two reasons why the timing of this release is significant: first, 28 members of Congress are currently calling on Holder to resign immediately. Second, Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday — and this appears to be an attempt to divert pressure for Fast and Furious away from Holder. The new documents, according to Iowa Republican Sen....

Upon being proven to have perjured himself before the House Government Affairs Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder did what any dedicated leftist would; he changed the subject and blamed someone else. In a childish and petulant letter to his principle adversary, Darrell Issa, Holder accused the Republican congressman of cynical efforts to “score political points” and repeated his claim to have known nothing of Operation Fast and Furious in 2010. But Issa would have none of the Attorney General’s bogus claims or pathetic excuses. In a masterpiece of typewritten homicide which has received far too little attention from conservative bloggers–and...

Just prior to taking office, Barack Hussein Obama’s transition team promised the incoming Administration would create ”…a new level of transparency, accountability and participation for American citizens.” Of course that was before the Fast and Furious debacle claimed several hundred lives and exposed the perjury of an Attorney General. It was before the Obama Department of Energy bestowed half a billion tax dollars on a bankrupt Solyndra Corporation whose principle investor happened to be an Obama campaign money-bundler. And it was also before another Obama campaign money-bundler used his influence to have the White House pressure a general into changing...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A key House investigator says he could send subpoenas to the Obama administration as soon as this week over weapons lost amid the Mexican drug war.

Washington (CNN) -- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said Sunday that he could issue subpoenas to the Justice Department this week in connection to a now-discredited federal gunrunning operation. Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Issa said that he wants a better understanding of who knew what, when about Operation Fast and Furious. "But more importantly, we have to understand at what level did the authorization really come?" he said. "People at the top of (the) Justice (Department) were well briefed, knew about it and seemed to be the command and control and funding for this program."...

The Obama administration engaged in a pattern of approving loans that were not qualified to receive taxpayer money, according to one Republican House chairman who says the development is as disturbing as the potential loss of billions of dollars in investments. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Relations Committee, said Sunday that the administration's approval of a loan guarantee for solar power company Solyndra -- which went belly up shortly after a half-billion dollar investment by the federal government -- is just one example of a "breach of protocol" in approving loans. Issa said the...

In a series of tense exchanges, Republicans on a House oversight panel sharply questioned whether the Obama administration was looking to inflate the number of "green" jobs by using a broad definition -- which, as it turns out, counts virtually anybody working in mass transit. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, grilled officials from the departments of Energy and Labor during his hearing Thursday. The meeting quickly turned into a forum for Republicans to vent their frustration with the government's subsidization of the clean-energy sector, in the wake of a controversy over loans...

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that his committee plans to investigate government loan programs to private corporations in light of allegations of improper dealings between the White House and failed energy company Solyndra and wireless startup LightSquared. "I want to see when the president and his cronies are picking winners and losers… it wasn't because there were large contributions given to them," the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Tuesday morning on CSPAN. Issa said the committee was looking at whether it was improper for members of Congress or White House staff to select companies eligible...

The botched sting operation known as Operation Fast And Furious has claimed the careers of at least three Justice Department officials, with Republican lawmakers expecting even more fallout to come. The operation, run out of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives field office in Phoenix, allowed guns to knowingly fall into the hands of violent criminals in Mexico. A congressional investigation into the operation led by House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Senate Judiciary ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, is examining how high up within the administration the program was known about and authorized....

As the United States continues on its downward trajectory, thanks to the policies of Barack Obama, the debate rages about whether he’s doing it all on purpose or is just incompetent. When talk radio giant Rush Limbaugh discusses this, he concludes that “it doesn’t matter” because the result is the same either way. Limbaugh misses a very critical line of distinction when he says that. If Obama is incompetent, it means he must be voted out of office. If he is intentionally destroying the country as it was founded, it means he has malicious intent and must be removed through...

Eleven days after publishing what Rep. Darrell Issa called an “error-ridden” “hit piece” about him, The New York Times has issued two more corrections to its reporting in the story. The Times now says the August 15 article used “erroneous information” to allege foul play on Issa’s part because he withdrew much of his family foundation’s assets from the stock market several months before it crashed. Reporter Eric Lichtblau used faulty documentation to allege that Issa’s family foundation “earned $357,000 on an initial investment of less than $19,000 – a return of nearly 1,900 percent in just seven months, the...

Darrell Issa is a brilliant businessman who made a lot of money the old-fashioned way: he earned it, rather than marrying or inheriting it as so many Democratic politicians do. Which is another way of saying that he is just the kind of man we need in Washington.The Left, of course, doesnÂ’t see it that way. The New York Times hates Issa because, as Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, he has launched several investigations of wrongdoing that have embarrassed the Obama administration. So ace reporter Eric Lichtblau, no longer occupied with illegally leaking national defense secrets...

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), whose House Oversight committee has overseen the aftermath of such horrors as the “Gun Walker” scandal, has demanded the retraction of a hit piece published by the New York Times. He even wants them to retract the headline: “A Businessman in Congress Helps his District and Himself.” Issa’s office has cited 13 erroneous statements in the article. Thus far, the Times has issued one “correction.” You know how that works: front-page smear, corrections several days later on page A-37, sandwiched between ads for the Chevy Volt and help-wanted notices from federal regulatory agencies. The formal request...

Scandal: As guns funneled by the ATF into Mexico continue to show up at crime scenes, three key supervisors of an operation that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. agents get moved up instead of fired. Considering the unmitigated disaster that came from a program allegedly designed to track and capture gun traffickers, we would have expected a wave of resignations and dismissals, starting with Attorney General Eric Holder. Instead, we get kudos and career advancement. William McMahon, who was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' deputy director of operations in the West, where the program was...

VISTA, Calif. — Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Just a few steps down the hall, Representative Darrell Issa, the powerful Republican congressman, runs the local district office where his constituents come for help. The proximity of the two offices reflects Mr. Issa’s dual careers, a meshing of public and private interests rarely seen in government. Most wealthy members of Congress push their financial activities to...

(WASHINGTON)—House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) today released the following statement in response to the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) failure to fully comply with the committee's subpoena issued August 7, 2011: "The National Labor Relations Board and Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon have thus far failed to comply with a lawful subpoena. This refusal by NLRB to abide by the law further heightens concerns that this is a rogue agency acting improperly. The integrity of NLRB and its leadership is clearly in question. "The public has a right to know the truth about why a...

The Obama administration sought to intimidate witnesses into not testifying to Congress on Tuesday about whether ATF knowingly allowed weapons, including assault rifles, to be “walked” into Mexico, the chairman of a House committee investigating the program said in an interview Monday. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa, California Republican, said at least two scheduled witnesses expected to be asked about a controversial weapons investigation known as “Fast and Furious”received warning letters from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to limit their testimony. Mr. Issa's committee is set to hear testimony from six current...

Darrell Issa is asked about a Moody's downgrade. He gives some real straight-talk on what they should do if we continue to run $1.4 trillion deficits year after year and we don't reign in our massive spending

Oversight: As the hearing to give approval to the final settlement for the Pigford farmers approaches, it's time to investigate this classic case of waste, fraud and abuse. Somewhere Van Jones is smiling. Seventy-nine Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted last week against an amendment to H.R. 2112 — the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012 — that would have blocked the government from paying out additional billions for the Pigford II settlement. One of them was Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Government Oversight Committee, who had promised...

"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...