cleveland | Warrensville Heights Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge on Thursday sought
removal of California GOP Rep. Darrell Issa from his Government
Oversight chairmanship for cutting off the microphone of the committee's
top Democrat at a hearing.
Issa asked former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner to
testify before his committee Wednesday on whether the tax agency
targeted tax exemption requests of Tea Party groups for special
scrutiny.
After Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights several times in
refusing to answer his questions, Issa ignored Maryland Rep. Elijah
Cummings' request to speak on behalf of the committee's Democrats,
adjourning the hearing and ordering that Cummings' microphone be turned off. His actions infuriated Cummings and other Democrats.
Fudge wrote a letter to
House Speaker John Boehner that demanded he be reprimanded for abusing
his authority. She said Issa's conduct violated rules of the House of
Representatives and his committee.
"Mr. Issa is a disgrace and should not be allowed to continue in a
leadership role," her letter said. "As the Speaker, you are responsible
for maintaining decorum and appropriate conduct in the House of
Representatives and ordering the Sergeant at Arms to enforce House
rules. We urge you to take prompt action to maintain the integrity of
this body and remove Mr. Issa as chair of the Oversight and Government
Reform Committee immediately."
Fudge and other Democrats also brought a resolution to the House of
Representatives floor to seek Issa's ouster. It was tabled on a party-line vote.
In a briefing with reporters, Boehner said he thinks Issa was "within his rights to adjourn the hearing when he did."
“The
issue here is our effort to try to get the truth of the abuse by the
IRS of groups around the country that some in the administration don’t
agree with," said Boehner. “Darrell Issa is the chairman. He's done an
effective job as chairman. And I support him.”
A spokesman for
Issa has not yet responded to The Plain Dealer's request for comment.
Issa is a Cleveland-area native who became a multimillionaire by running
a company that makes anti-theft devices for cars.
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