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applegrove

(118,595 posts) Tue Jul 15, 2014, 09:36 PM Jul 2014

White House Defies Darrell Issa, Says It Won't Send Senior Adviser To Testify

White House Defies Darrell Issa, Says It Won't Send Senior Adviser To Testify

by Brett LoGiurato at Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-darrell-issa-david-simas-testify-2014-7

"SNIP......................

White House adviser David Simas will not comply with House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa's (R-California) subpoena to testify before the committee on Wednesday, White House counsel Neil Eggleston wrote in a letter to Issa late Tuesday.

The White House had urged Issa to drop his subpoena, offering to brief him on the role of the administration's political affairs office, of which Simas is the director. Issa has been conducting an investigation into the office for what he claims are possible violations of the Hatch Act, related to whether the administration is using taxpayer dollars for political purposes.

Issa refused to lift the subpoena on Tuesday, despite a lengthy briefing Tuesday from White House staff that Issa did not attend. Issa said later in a statement it would be important to get on-the-record answers from Simas at the hearing.

Eggleston sent back a letter informing him Simas was "immune" from appearing before the Oversight Committee. Eggleston said the subpoena would "threaten the longstanding interests of the Executive Branch in preserving the president's independence and autonomy." Eggleston also wrote to Issa that it was "regrettable" he had chosen ton continue to pursue the subpoena instead of working privately with the White House to resolve his questions about oversight.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-darrell-issa-david-simas-testify-2014-7#ixzz37aiOuKoH

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