Democrats Lock Republicans Out Of Room To Prevent Them From Issuing Subpoenas In Countrywide Scandal
Proof • October 21, 2009
So, uh, this is that new spirit of bipartisanship being ushered in by Nancy Pelosi’s “most ethical Congress ever” right?
House Republicans have complained all year that Democrats have locked them out of the legislative process.
On Tuesday, those complaints took a turn from figurative to literal.
A spokesman for House Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Democrats changed the lock on the door from the GOP’s meeting room to the main committee chamber, and informed Republicans that Democrats would retain the only set of keys.
Republicans say the move was retaliation for a behind-the-scenes video they shot that showed committee Democrats leaving their meeting room through a back door 30 minutes after they canceled a hearing that the majority said conflicted with Members’ schedules.
Before that hearing was terminated early, Issa was scheduled to call for a vote on whether the committee should issue a subpoena for records and documents relating to the Countrywide Financial VIP mortgage program. Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd (Conn.) and Kent Conrad (N.D.) obtained mortgages from the program, prompting Issa and other Republicans to question whether Dodd and Conrad obtained below-market rates because of their positions. However, the Senate Ethics Committee cleared both lawmakers in the matter.
As I’ve posted before, the Countrywide scandal is far from over. The Senate Ethics Committee did issue a ruling exonerating Senators Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd from any wrong doing, but that committee didn’t release any of the exculpatory evidence they used to make their decision. In fact, a lot of evidence from Countrywide (now owned by Bank of America) was never subpoenaed including recordings of conversations with VIP loans recipients like Senator Conrad which have now been destroyed.
Rep. Issa and other Republicans want to subpoena these records. And Democrats are stifling their efforts through childish tactics like ending meetings early and now actually locking Republicans out of the room.
It’s, well, pathetic.
http://sayanythingblog.com/entry/democrats_lock_republicans_out_of_room_to_prevent_them_from_issuing_subpoen/