|
See a tree with 20 apples hanging on it and reasonable people conclude it's an apple tree. So is it a criminal conspiracy when 20 government employees illegally destroy important official emails?If that seems like an extreme question, consider the steadily accumulating evidence about the Obama administration's modus operandi with potentially incriminating documents subpoenaed by Congress: A scandal erupts. Congressional hearings are held. Documents are requested and withheld. Subpoenas are issued. Contempt charges threatened. A few documents dribble out.
Then come the admissions that, oh by the way, emails required by multiple federal laws to be preserved have either been destroyed or "lost."
Over and over and over ...
The latest example comes from the Department of Health and Human Services, which admitted Wednesday that hundreds of Obamacare emails subpoenaed in 2013 by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were destroyed months ago.
This jaw-dropping admission sparked outrage from the committee's chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa:
"Today’s news that a senior HHS executive destroyed emails relevant to a congressional investigation means that the Obama administration has lost or destroyed emails for more than 20 witnesses, and in each case, the loss wasn’t disclosed to the National Archives or Congress for months or years, in violation of federal law.
"It defies logic that so many senior administration officials were found to have ignored federal record-keeping requirements only after Congress asked to see their emails ...
"Yet again, we discover that this administration will not be forthright with the American people unless cornered."
IRS, EPA, HHS. How many more?
And it's not just emails. As Christopher Horner wrote earlier this week in the Washington Examiner, Environmental Protection Agency officials routinely destroy official text messages, contrary to law. And let's not forget those fake EPA email names like "Richard Windsor."
And there's this: 47 inspectors-general told Congress in a letter this week that their investigations are often obstructed, delayed or otherwise impeded by top agency officials.
It became abundantly clear several years ago that the Obama administration was waging a campaign of massive resistance to legitimate congressional oversight.
That campaign — and a parallel one against aggressive journalism — has made an utter mockery of Obama's opening-day promise of the "most transparent administration in history."
So what is it these people are so desperate to cover up?
On today's washingtonexaminer.com
Editorial: Inspectors general say Obama obstructs investigations.
Watchdog/Richard Pollock: Nine "coyotes" arrested in joint U.S./Guatemalan operation.
Columnists/Philip Klein: A high-speed train wreck for Obama and liberalism.
Columnists/Shikha Dalmia: On immigration, Obama may be cynical but he's not breaking the law.
Columnists/Byron York: GOP candidates flock to Iowa as caucuses regain prominence.
OpEds/Manhattan Moment: Maryland's MVA bureaucracy needs an overhaul.
Beltway Confidential/Timothy P. Carney: Sen. Dick Durbin to Walgreens -- You didn't build that.
PennAve/David M. Drucker: Here's what to expect at the 2016 Republican convention.
Legal Newsline/Kyla Asbury: Class-action lawsuit filed against SpaceX in mass layoffs.
Video Morning Examiner: Morning Examiner with Steve Doty for Aug. 8.
In other news
CNN: Why do U.S. airstrikes now loom over ISIS in Iraq?
USA Today: Gaza shelling, rockets resume as truce falls apart.
Newsweek: American horror, Ivy League edition.
Righty Playbook
Washington Free Beacon: USDA cotton subsidies buy cars, elephant lamps, artwork.
The Daily Caller: Actor James Woods blasts Obama on Twitter.
Patriot Post: Debunking the "97 percent" myth.
Bonus must-read
The Federalist: How to mind America's business.
Lefty Playbook
The Nation: Senators tell Obama to stop censoring torture report.
New Republic: The bizarre life and death of Mr. Organic.
Washington Monthly: Could Sen. Elizabeth Warren threaten Hillary Clinton's nomination?
Bonus must-read
Mother Jones: Here's the science to refute right-wing Ebola scare-mongering.
No comments:
Post a Comment