Darrell Issa Is Unclear on the Concept of “Consultation”

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Dana Milbank writes today about the unprecedented1 use of “unilateral” subpoenas issued by Darrell Issa as part of his endless series of Benghazi/IRS/Fast&Furious/Solyndra/etc. investigations. After reviewing the facts and figures that demonstrate just how reckless and partisan Issa is, he got this priceless response:

Issa’s deputy staff director, Frederick Hill, said Democrats as well as Republicans have used unilateral subpoenas. Hill also said that Issa, unlike his immediate predecessor Towns, consults with the minority before each subpoena.

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to reenact for you Issa’s “consultation” with the minority:

ISSA: Hey Elijah, I want to issue a subpoena to Lois Lerner’s dentist as part of the IRS investigation. I think she might have gotten a reduced-price root canal in return for making sure he didn’t get audited. You OK with that?

ELIJAH CUMMINGS: What? That’s crazy. Of course I’m not OK with that.

ISSA: OK, great. I’m glad we had this chat. I’ll issue the subpoena tomorrow.

Next up: Issa’s office demands to know why an American Water Dog isn’t good enough for the Obama family.

1Well, unprecedented except for the literally insane number of subpoenas issued by demented conspiracy theorist Dan Burton during the Clinton witch hunts of the 90s.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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