Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings
As the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Maryland Congressmann Elijah Cummings has one of the most difficult jobs in Washington. Since California Congressman Darrell Issa gained the chair of the Committee in 2010 he has used his position in an extreme partisan manner to obstruct President Obama and the functioning of government. On Friday, October 19th, with the release of
166 pages of sensitive but unclassified State Department communications, Issa compromised the identities of several Libyans working with the U.S. government.
Several DailyKos diarists have reported the story and today Chicago Mayor (and former White House Chief of Staff) Rahm Emmanuel spoke out against Issa on This Week:
“I have also worked in Congress where you have an oversight responsibility. And with that oversight responsibility comes responsibility,” Emanuel said. “And what Darrell Issa did by releasing names in that entire document of individuals who are working with America, put people at risk in Libya, and people around the world will now know that you’re at risk if you cooperate with the United States. That office, that chairmanship of that committee comes with responsibility. And you can not act reckless with it. ”
As early as October 11, Congressman Cummings
wrote to Issa to condemn his irresponsible handling of sensitive and classified information:
“I have grave concerns about the way yesterday’s hearing devolved into a disorganized, partisan, and absurd spectacle when it should have been a serious and responsible investigation of the attack in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans,” wrote Cummings.
“As Chairman of the Committee—and particularly as a former Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence—you have an obligation and a responsibility to ensure that classified information is protected during proceedings before the Oversight Committee,” wrote Cummings. “Yet, it was obvious to anyone watching yesterday’s hearing that Committee Members had no way to determine what information was classified or unclassified.”
Congressman Issa did not respond to Cummings October 11th letter.
The New York Times Andrew Rosenthal wrote last week that "Darrell Issa Keeps His Word":
At a time when politicians lie with abandon and break their promises with even more abandon, it’s worth noting when a politician is true to his word.
When Rep. Darrell Issa of California became chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2010, he said he wanted to hold “seven hearings a week times 40 weeks.” It was clearly his intention to obstruct President Obama, who he called “one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times,” by any means at his disposal. He hasn’t quite lived up to his once-a-day goal, but he’s certainly tried.
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Last week, Mr. Issa said he would hold hearings on the September jobs numbers, which Republicans say were manipulated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to make Mr. Obama look good. That’s nonsense, but Mr. Issa doesn’t care.
Yesterday, October 20th Congressman Cummings issued a statement in response to
reports that Committee Chairman Darrell Issa rushed to release sensitive documents before Monday’s presidential debate that included information that may have endangered the lives of Libyans working with the United States and compromised the FBI investigation of those who attacked the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi:
“If these reports are accurate, Rep. Issa’s actions are astonishingly reckless, a blatant violation of the rules of the House of Representatives, and another dangerous example of the way Republicans are placing partisan politics above the interests of our nation,” said Cummings. “It would be an extremely grave consequence of Rep. Issa’s actions if individuals helping our country are harmed and suspects in this attack are able to escape justice.”
“There was absolutely no reason for Rep. Issa to do this other than an obviously partisan attempt to affect the upcoming presidential debate,” Cummings said today. “He did not take even the most basic precautions of checking with security experts, intelligence officials, or his own Committee Members before he rushed to make these documents public.”
On October 19th, Congressman Cummings sent a
detailed letter to Issa in response to
Issa's ten page letter to President Obama regarding Benghazi. The letter from Issa to the President was written on House Oversight Committee letterhead but was co-signed by Congressman Jason Chaffetz (UT-03), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense, and Foreign Operations. Cummings' response is worth reading in its
entirety, but here are a few excerpts:
Earlier today, you sent a ten-page letter to the President making serious allegations relating to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya. However, your letter completely ignores sworn testimony provided to the Committee, recklessly omits contradictory information from the very same documents it quotes, irresponsibly promotes inaccurate information, and makes numerous allegations with no evidence to substantiate them.
It seems obvious that your goal in sending a public letter at this time is to release the most negative and distorted view possible of the attack in Benghazi ahead of the Presidential debate on Monday evening. This is particularly disturbing given requests by Ambassador Stevens’ family not to politicize his death as part of the campaign.
Your numerous claims about conducting a “bipartisan” investigation can no longer be taken seriously since you withheld from Democratic Members many of the documents quoted in your letter, despite my numerous requests that we work together responsibly, and in direct contradiction of House rules. Just because this has become common practice with this Committee does not make it any less of an abuse of your authority as Chairman. It denies Committee Members the ability to analyze documents before you make them public, and it prevents Members from evaluating the validity of your accusations.
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The fact is that the Committee has not spoken with a single official who was even in the country on the night of the attack in Benghazi and has not received a single classified briefing about the attack. To issue such a contorted and incomplete account of events three days before the upcoming Presidential debate undermines the legitimacy of the Committee and the credibility of its work.
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Your letter claims inaccurately that there were “two formal requests by Embassy Tripoli for Washington to fill the five positions” for Diplomatic Security agents in Benghazi. However, your letter incorrectly cites a cable sent from Tripoli on July 9, 2012, and it also disregards sworn testimony at the Committee’s hearing on October 10, 2012. Your letter also omits the fact that there were five agents on the ground in Benghazi on the night of the attack.
On page 7 of your letter, you cite a July 9, 2012, cable drafted by Diplomatic Security Agent Eric Nordstrom for your claim that he requested five diplomatic security agents. In fact, that cable asks for four agents, with a minimum of three.
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In an effort to form your partisan narrative, your letter fails to acknowledge that Mr. Nordstrom, who was critical of the State Department’s personnel decisions, also had significant praise for his superiors in the State Department and their actions in supporting security requests from Libya.
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In any investigation of this type, there is bound to be conflicting evidence, contradictory accounts, and incomplete information about what happened on the ground. It is our responsibility to first gather this evidence so that we can sift through it in a careful and responsible manner. Only then will we be able to draw reasonable conclusions that are supported by that evidence and make well-considered recommendations.
I believe there is more than sufficient reason to call for the removal of Congressman Darrell Issa from his position as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. If we win the House in November, we can look forward to Chairman Cummings. But should we fail to re-take the House, we must continue to spotlight Darrell Issa and fight aggressively for his removal.
Video below is from 10/10 on the failure of the House to fund the Administration's request for State Department security. Congressman Cummings: "The fact is that since 2011 the House has cut embassy security by hundreds of millions of dollars below the amounts requested by the President."