Rep. Darrell E. Issa blasted Rep. Elijah E. Cummings on Sunday after the latter asserted that the Internal Revenue Service scandal involving the targeting of conservatives had been “solved.”
“Based upon everything I’ve seen, the case is solved. If it were me, I’d wrap this case up and move on,” Mr. Cummings, Maryland Democrat, told CNN’s Candy Crowley on “State of the Union.”
Mr. Issa, a California Republican who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, criticized the claim as “extreme and reckless,” Breitbart News reported.
“I strongly disagree with Ranking Member Cummings’ assertion that we know everything we need to know about inappropriate targeting of Tea Party groups by the IRS and the case is, in his word, ’solved,’” Mr. Issa said in a statement released to the press. “His extreme and reckless assertions are a signal that his true motivation is stopping needed Congressional oversight and he has no genuine interest in working, on a bipartisan basis, to expose the full truth.
“The American public wants to know why targeting occurred and who was involved. The testimony excerpts Ranking Member Cummings revealed today did not provide anything enlightening or contradict other witness accounts. The only thing Ranking Member Cummings left clear in his comments today is that if it were up to him the investigation would be closed. Fortunately, the decision to close the investigation is not his to make. Both House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp and I are committed to leading a fact based investigation that fully exposes all relevant facts about IRS efforts to target Americans for their political beliefs.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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