From politicususa.com:
Rep. Darrell Issa suffered a crushing defeat in his crusade to bring down President Obama when investigators concluded that top Obama aide David Simas did not violate the law by using taxpayer dollars for political activities.
Bloomberg reported, “A special investigator’s office says it has found no evidence that David Simas, a top political aide to the president, violated a law that prohibits federal workers from engaging in partisan political activities. The White House Office of Political Outreach and Strategy “appears to be operating in a manner that is consistent with the Hatch Act,” said Carolyn Lerner, a lawyer at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, whose job is to enforce that law and protect whistle-blowers.”
...
The investigator’s findings are a death blow to Darrell Issa’s claim that two members of the president’s cabinet violated the Hatch Act by using taxpayer dollars for partisan political activities. Yesterday, Rep. Issa wrote a letter to the White House that claimed, “With the 2014 campaign season underway, there are already reports that raise questions as to whether, on Mr. Simas’s watch, the White House is using taxpayer dollars for political activities. For example, the President’s June 26-27 trip to Minnesota consisted of a previously scheduled Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser. Official activities were subsequently tacked onto the itinerary, ensuring that the President’s travel to the fundraiser was, at least partially, undertaken at taxpayer expense. Two weeks ago, the President traveled to Colorado on a fundraising trip in support of a Democratic Senator reportedly facing a close reelection race. The White House added an official event, and again, the taxpayers picked up part of the tab. Mr. Simas can answer, among other things, how OPSO ensures that events such as these and others are Hatch Act-compliant.”
http://www.politicususa.com/...
Dang - there are so many phony-baloney scandals being flung around by Issa, that some, like this one, I hadn't even heard of! Surprise, surprise - it's nothing but lies.
It is pointed out in the same article that what Issa is accusing Obama of doing here is exactly something that was done frequently by both Presidents Dumbya and Reagan. Guess it's only a crime when Obama does it.
I believe it is long past time for Darrell Issa's abuse of his committee powers to be investigated. It would likely be an actual scandal.
Update 1:
Now Issa alleges no wrongdoing. From Huffington Post:
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) conceded Friday that, despite his weeks-long effort to subpoena White House political adviser David Simas to testify before his committee, there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Simas' office.
Issa said during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which he chairs, that he's not demanding that Simas testify because he thinks the White House Office of Political Affairs has inappropriately engaged in political campaign activities. Rather, Issa said, it's the potential for that office to overstep the line in the future that he wants to examine.
"We are accusing neither the president nor this four-person office of any wrongdoing," Issa said, adding, "I allege no wrongdoing."
(my bold)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
What a joke.