Press Releases

"If the IRS truly got rid of evidence in a way that violated the Federal Records Act and ensured the FBI never got a crack at recovering files from an official claiming a Fifth amendment protection against self-incrimination , this is proof their whole line about 'losing' e-mails in the targeting scandal was just one more attempted deception. Old and useless binders of information are still stored and maintained on federal agency shelves; official records, like the e-mails of a prominent ...

“The possibility that inaccurate information played a role in the FTC’s decision to initiate enforcement actions against LabMD is a serious matter,” said Chairman Issa in today’s letter. “The FTC’s enforcement actions have resulted in serious financial difficulties for the company. Additionally, the alleged collaboration between the FTC and Tiversa, a company which has now admitted that the information it provided to federal government entities—including the FTC—may be ...

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., today subpoenaed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen for documents related to the recent revelation that the IRS supposedly “lost” former IRS official Lois Lerner’s emails for a two year period, January 2009 to April 2011. The subpoena covers Lerner’s hard drive and electronic devices as well as documents connected to the IRS’s response to Congress.

“The arrest of Ahmed Abu Khatallah is long overdue and our military deserves credit for conducting a successful operation. There is evidence that he is one of dozens, if not hundreds of individuals, involved in the murder of four Americans in Benghazi. The Obama Administration has an obligation to share whatever information he offers with Chairman Gowdy and the Select Committee about events before and during the Benghazi attacks.”

In a letter that accompanied the subpoena, Issa stated: “Congress passed the Federal Records Act (FRA) to preserve key documents—such as those that were stored on Lerner’s hard drive—for production to congressional investigators and other stakeholders, including historians and FOIA requesters. The FRA requires agencies to make and preserve records of agency decisions, policies, and essential transactions, and to take steps to safeguard against the loss of agency records.”

“Today’s report clearly outlines the causal relationship between Democrats’ rhetoric calling for action against Citizens United and the actions taken by the IRS and the Justice Department to target conservatives for their political beliefs,” said Chairman Issa. “Certainly, the President and congressional Democrats have an absolute right to express policy concerns and advocate for policy changes. But the causal relationship between this rhetoric and the IRS targeting is clear. The ...

Chairman Issa said: “Isn’t it convenient for the Obama Administration that the IRS now says it has suddenly realized it lost Lois Lerner’s emails requested by Congress and promised by Commissioner John Koskinen? Do they really expect the American people to believe that, after having withheld these emails for a year, they're just now realizing the most critical time period is missing? Congressional oversight has revealed that the IRS has –potentially illegally– shared confidential ...

“We are aghast to learn that the Justice Department worked with the IRS to assemble a massive database of nonprofit groups, and that this database included confidential taxpayer information that the Department is not authorized to possess,” write Issa and Jordan. “The creation of such an illicit and comprehensive registry by federal law-enforcement officials is concerning in and of itself. Yet, the creation of a registry at the same time that the Department considered possible ...

WASHINGTON – Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., released a staff report titled, “Systemic Waste and Abuse at the Social Security Administration: How Rubber-Stamping Disability Judges Cost Hundreds of Billions of Taxpayer Dollars.” The report examines the prevalence and impact of administrative law judges (ALJs) with so-called “red-flag” allowance rates that exceed 75 percent of ...

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today sent a letter to Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) regarding FDIC’s pressure on banks to terminate relationships with legal businesses, in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Operation Choke Point, which targets businesses the Obama Administration deems objectionable.  In April, the FDIC’s Acting General Counsel, Richard J. Osterman, testified at ...