Too Fast, Too Furious: Darrell Issa’s Lawless Marauding [View all]

[cynatnite]

Issa’s bad faith is so blatant that even Rep, Eric Cantor (R-VA), the House Majority Leader and Tea Party favorite, reportedly fretted that the committee is going too far. He has refused to summon witnesses or examine evidence regarding identical ATF operations during the Bush administration. He has ignored warnings that the committee’s attempt to subpoena internal Justice Department documents is not only prohibited by law (and the separation of powers), but might jeopardize ongoing cases.

As Michael Keegan, president of People for The American Way, observed in an interview with the Nation magazine: “Over the course of this ‘investigation,’ the Committee has ordered the (Attorney General) to produce documents whose confidentiality is protected by federal law, has refused to subpoena Bush Administration officials to testify about their knowledge of the operation during their time in office, has refused to allow public testimony from officials whose testimony counters Issa’s partisan narrative, and has repeatedly rejected the A.G.’s efforts to accommodate the committee, making compliance all but impossible.”

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No matter what happens next, Issa’s behavior raises urgent questions about his motives and fitness to chair such a vital committee.

Perhaps it is time to review his shrouded past — which includes numerous unhappy encounters with law enforcement, from alleged car thefts to weapons offenses. While almost none of those accusations stuck, although there was more evidence than he has managed to find so far against Holder. Arrested twice on gun charges in Michigan and Ohio, he was ultimately convicted of misdemeanor possession of an unregistered pistol. Is that embarrassing history what drives his bizarre behavior today?

http://www.nationalmemo.com/too-fast-too-furious-darrell-issas-lawless-marauding/