Issa said there is a Issa may hold Simas in contempt

Rep. Darrell Issa isn’t ruling out the possibility of holding a senior adviser to President Barack Obama in contempt for his failure to appear before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday.

The California Republican said his staff is evaluating how to respond after David Simas, the director of the White House Office of Political Strategy and Outreach, claimed immunity from testifying before the panel on alleged violations of the Hatch Act at the White House.


“I can’t rule it in or out, yet,” Issa said. “I can’t answer what we will do in this case, but I can tell you that there is a similar case that occurred under President [George W.] Bush and the similarities are significant.”

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Issa was referencing Committee on the Judiciary v. Miers, a lawsuit congressional Democrats brought against Harriet Miers, the White House Counsel for Bush. Miers failed to appear under subpoena to testify about the controversial firing of U.S. attorneys. The House ultimately brought civil charges against Miers and held in her contempt in 2008.

Issa was one of the 173 members who walked out during that contempt vote in protest.

The White House and Issa have been trading barbs since last week when Issa issued a subpoena for Simas’ appearance to discuss how the White House’s political office was complying with the Hatch Act - a law that bars executive branch employees from engaging in political campaigning.

Issa has accused the political affairs office of being a de facto campaign arm for the Democrats - a charge the White House fiercely denies as unfounded.

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White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said late Tuesday that compelling Simas’ testimony “threatens longstanding interests of the executive branch in preserving the president’s independence and autonomy, as well as his ability to obtain candid advice and counsel to aid him in the discharge of his constitutional duties.”

Eggleston added that Simas is “immune from congressional compulsion.”

The Oversight Committee went ahead with its planned hearing Wednesday morning in Simas’ absence but was quickly gaveled into recess after opening statements. Issa said he is closely studying the Miers case to determine his path forward.

“You can never predict what’s appropriate until you reviewed it but I can give you the historical element. In the case of Harriet Miers, the Judiciary Committee held her in contempt and the House held her in contempt. That would be my answer,” he said. “We’ve been faced…with the assertion that the president employees are above the law and above congressional review. We’re in the process of working with House Counsel and others to see what our response will be.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the Oversight panel, said holding Simas in contempt would be “wrong.”

“It would be a waste of the committee’s time and it would be a waste of the resources,” the Maryland Democrat said.