Issa Gonna Be A Long Two Years

GOP Rep. Darrell Issa has been House Oversight chairman for less than a month, and he's already breaking out the intimidation stick.  His first target:  dragging everyone in the financial crisis Inquiry Commission up before Congress to explain why anyone would dare place even partial blame on the banks that donate big money to guys like Issa.

The conservative Republican has decided the investigation needs an investigation, and according to the Financial Times, has demanded that the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission turn over its emails and related records to the committee for review.


Keep in mind, there have been no accusations of wrongdoing on the part of the commission; Issa says he just wants to look around and see what, if anything, he can turn up.

He's just going after them because he has the power to do so.  And of course, it gets worse:

This is, by the way, the same Issa who, just three weeks on the job, announced that he wants his committee to have a running list of everyone who files Freedom of Information Act requests. If this makes you uncomfortable, you're not alone -- it "just seems sort of creepy that one person in the government could track who is looking into what and what kinds of questions they are asking," said David Cuillier, a University of Arizona journalism professor and chairman of the Freedom of Information Committee at the Society of Professional Journalists. "It is an easy way to target people who he might think are up to no good."

For a guy who promised a "new era of Washington transparency" he sure is transparently trying to play power games, huh.