DARRELL ISSA: Elijah, what are you whining about again?
ELIJAH CUMMINGS: You did not include Democratic members apart of the conversation, your trip nor even the whole time the investigation has been taking place!
DARRELL ISSA: I don't see a purpose for why you're complaining. My Libya trip and Benghazi investigation are being handled just fine.
Ahhh, the Issa man is back again and Elijah Cummings has got the scoop!
This time, Cummings appears to have caught Darrell Issa red handed with turning his Benghazi investigation into more of a partisan fight against the Obama administration than with real objective investigation:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, blasted Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) on Friday for violating his own rules dictating committee travel on a newly announced trip to Libya.
Issa scheduled a congressional delegation to Libya next week as part of his investigation into the attacks upon a U.S. consulate in Benghazi last year. In a letter sent Friday, Cummings called on Issa to postpone the trip because it failed to specify a clear enough purpose and provide sufficient opportunity for Democratic lawmakers to join the delegation.
Here's the link to Elijah Cummings' full letter to Congressman Issa:
http://democrats.oversight.house.gov/...
Full letter below:
September 20, 2013
The Honorable Darrell E. Issa
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I am writing to request that you immediately postpone your upcoming delegation to Libya and several other countries until you come into compliance with your own Committee directives, stop your partisan efforts to deliberately exclude Democrats from this trip, and provide adequate notice to allow Democratic Members to join this delegation at a later date.
On April 6, 2011, upon becoming Chairman of the Committee, you issued a memorandum to all Committee Members entitled “Rules for Committee-Authorized Foreign Travel.” According to that memorandum, “All delegations must be bipartisan.”
Earlier today, however, I obtained a copy of an itinerary for a trip you apparently have been planning to Libya and several other countries next week, presumably as part of the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the attack in Benghazi in 2012. The only congressional travelers on this itinerary are you and your Republican staffer. No Democratic Members are listed on the itinerary, and you have not contacted me or my staff about this trip. According to this itinerary, you are planning to leave this Sunday, which means Democratic participation at this late date is impossible.
Your 2011 memo also says that the “purpose must be very specific for each country.” Yet, your itinerary states only that the Libya portion of the trip is “TBD,” although it may include a “visit” to the embassy and a “working lunch.” Your itinerary does not identify a single U.S. government official, Libyan official, or other individual the Committee plans to interview or speak with during this delegation.
Your 2011 memo also says that the only exception to conducting bipartisan international delegations is “in rare circumstances and at the sole discretion of the Chairman.” However, you have not identified any such circumstances in this case that would justify excluding Democratic Members. Moreover, I have obtained other documents showing that you have been planning this delegation for more than a week, so there are no exigencies that would have prohibited you from consulting with Democrats.
Although you claim that your investigation of the Benghazi attacks is bipartisan, your efforts to secretly plan an official trip to Libya—and then deliberately exclude Democrats from joining—is part of an unfortunate pattern of partisanship that undermines the credibility of this investigation.
Last October, Rep. Jason Chaffetz undertook exactly the same partisan maneuver when he traveled to Libya—at your direction—and excluded Democratic Members from that trip. At that time, my staff obtained a last-minute copy of his itinerary that listed the Committee activity in Libya as “TBD” and failed to identify any officials to be interviewed. We now know that Rep. Chaffetz met personally with General Carter Ham, the Commander of AFRICOM, as well as Gregory Hicks, the Deputy Chief of Mission, who was then called before the Committee to testify.
The problem with these actions is that they effectively deny Democratic Members the ability to effectively investigate this incident. Since your secret delegation appears to violate your own directive to the Committee, I request that you postpone it until such time as Democratic Members are given an adequate opportunity to join.
Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member
And what is Issa's response? Oh well, naturally, nothing.
And what can you ask from a world-class Congressman like the one-and-only, DARRELL ISSA?!
No really, what does Darrell Issa have on Benghazi?
You got it!
As of now, there is a 2014 Democratic candidate running against Darrell Issa, one so far. His name is Dave Peiser and he's an Encinitas-based IT consultant and from what I understand is a progressive Democrat.
Here's Dave Peiser's information.
Dave Peiser for Congress: http://peiserforcongress.com/
Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Information: info@peiserforcongress.com
Phone: (760) 405-1257
The website still needs more updating and we still need to know where Peiser stands.
At best, keep Mr. Peiser's information handy and forward it to as many people as you know to monitor the campaign. Should there be another Democratic candidate emerging, I will keep you guys informed as well.
However, if you want, you can also harass the San Diego County Democratic Party to mount a Democratic candidate on their own, the more the merrier!
San Diego County Democratic Party Website: http://www.sddemocrats.org/
Address: 8340 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Suite 10 San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (858) 277-3367
Fax: (858) 571-0275
E-mail: info@sddemocrats.org
Contact Form: http://www.sddemocrats.org/...