California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is ramping up his demands for information to aid an inquiry into the newly reopened White House political office.
The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has targeted the
political office since February, suspicious that it will be used to let the White House handle political requests from Democrats looking for a leg up in the 2014 elections.
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On Tuesday, he threatened he'd subpoena the Obama administration for the information he needs for his inquiry,
The Blaze reports.
"The American people have a right to know if their tax dollars are being spent to support congressional campaigns during the 2014 midterm elections in violation of federal law," Issa wrote to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough.
"If the White House continues to withhold documents and information related to the reopening of the White House political office, I will have no alternative but to consider the use of compulsory process to obtain the requested documents."
In his letter, Issa drew a connection between current activities of the political office and those of the Bush administration in 2008, when the then-Democrat-led House Oversight Committee found the office was violating the law.
Obama closed the Office of Political Affairs in 2011, then reopened it in January under its new name: the
Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, saying it meets legal requirements, Politico noted.
But Issa isn't buying it, writing Tuesday that the new arrangement calls into question that "taxpayer money is being used improperly to advance the interests of Democratic congressional candidates and the Democratic Party."
He also charged that his
March request for documents was met with a response containing "contradictory information" that "failed to provide any documents and information requested related to the White House political office," The Blaze reports.
Issa gave the White House until June 3 to come up with the information he requested.
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