The first subpoena issued by Darrell Issa, the chairman of the Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, was sent Wednesday. It doesn't come as a surprise that the top oversight watchdog's first subpoena called for Bank of America to hand over all documents pertaining to Countrywide's VIP loan program. As ranking member in the 111th Congress, Issa pushed for the investigation of the very same sweetheart loan program that gave special rates and lower fees to some government officials. So why is this first subpoena such a big deal?
Over the past several months, many have speculated on what type of Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa will be. After the Republican takeover of the House, pundits thought that the man who had been designated “Annoyer-in Chief” would be a constant nuisance to the Obama administration in the model of a former Committee chairman, Dan Burton of Indiana. Burton worked tirelessly to paralyze the Clinton administration during his 1997 to 2000 reign.
But during his weeks in the chair, Issa has performed more similarly to former Chairman Henry Waxman, the California Democrat. Waxman served as the committee chair during the end of the Bush administration and rode into power promising to investigate all of the waste and abuse that was neglected by the Republican chairman before him. During his two years as committee chair, he investigated Pentagon spending, fraud, and abuse in Iraq, and the bailout of AIG.
While Waxman used his subpoena power to call Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to testify before the committee, a move some saw as politically motivated, he tried to increase bipartisanship by not overusing it. During his entire tenure as chairman he held more than 200 hearings. Contrast that with Dan Burton, who issued more than 1,000 during the Clinton.
Subpoenaing Countrywide Financial signals that Issa is committed to routing out actual corruption, not bog down the Obama administration. It demonstrates an interest in real oversight over government that would seek to abuse their power. While he has promised to investigate the administration's policies, he does not seem committed to tearing it down just for the sake of doing so.
The new chairman has also worked the press to dispel any fears that he would be a staunch partisan. “My job is not to bring down the president. My job is to make the president a success,” he told Politico in January. But that doesn't mean he hasn't played any partisan games: He has denied the minority party access to committee records, which he has the power to do.
Of course, things are just getting started. Let's hope the good Darrell Issa is here to stay.
