And why it isn't going to happen.
So in the constitution (which yes, I still think is ended but as long as people continue to refer to it as if it exists then so will I, that and the principles enshrined therein are indeed eternal), refers to separation of powers. Its one of the core principals of the constitution. In fact, I would argue it pretty much is the fundamentally most important part of it. Its the thing that makes having a constitution worth having at all.
So congress has the power to hold hearings. That's all well and good. The purpose of these hearings, of course, is to unearth things that need legislative action. What they were never intended for was blatant witch hunts of a purely political nature.
Well the executive has powers of its own. One of which is to appoint the attorney general. It is within the parameters of that office to direct the AG to investigate anyone breaking the law. Now members of congress enjoy legislative immunity.
Their staffers and lobbyist pals do not. Thus, one potential counter to Issa's proposed witch hunt is to shine a 10 billion watt bulb on congress and bring the full force and power of the executive to bear on the corruption of congress.
I have to wonder which organization has more to lose by having corruption exposed?
Of course, Obama isn't going to do that. He wants the Justice Department to be non political. That's the way it used to be. But the whole point of returning to how it 'used to be' before the Bush years implies that the next Republican president will carry on the tradition.
Otherwise having a partisan justice when Republicans are in charge and a non partisan justice department when democrats are in charge means that democrats get screwed, like the former Governor of Alabama, who is essentially a political prison.
Plus, honestly, a legitimate investigation of congress doesn't HAVE to be political. It will just look political, which is why Obama will probably still avoid doing it.
But it is the best tool that the executive has to counter the nonsense that Issa will be unleashing.
I'm sorry, "likely" unleashing but when the main diaries and stories on Kos show the likelihood of a Republican victory, planning for it in case it happens seems reasonable.