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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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

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