Benghazi Ethics

The Witch Hunt Continues

Darrell “Witch Hunt” Issa isn’t canceling the Benghazi inquisition which has more or less been debunked, but he is moving part of the investigation behind closed doors so he and his colleagues have less opportunity to publicly embarrass themselves.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has subpoenaed the co-chairman of the independent review board that investigated last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, to answer questions about the panel’s findings behind closed doors.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said in a statement Friday that he had issued the subpoena to retired veteran diplomat Thomas Pickering to force him to appear at a deposition next week. Pickering, who co-chaired the Benghazi Accountability Review Board with a former Joint Chiefs of Staff chief Mike Mullen, has offered to testify before Issa’s committee in public. But Issa said a closed-door meeting is needed first in order for the committee to fully understand how the review board conducted its investigation.

Pickering has agreed to testify publicly, but Darrell Issa doesn’t want to allow him to do so if he isn’t informed of what Pickering will say ahead of time. Pickering sought to testify during this past week’s hearing, but Issa denied him.

Forcing Pickering to agree to a private rather than public interview with a subpoena, which Issa claims would be an attempt to “limit the committee’s understanding of the Accountability Review Board,” tells me Issa doesn’t actually know what he’s looking for.

If you don’t know what you’re looking for, a public hearing could be problematic.