Rep. Darrell Issa’s subpoena mania

BY DANA MILBANK June 23 at 10:53 PM

“Raise your right hand,” Rep. Darrell Issa ordered IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on Monday night.

Koskinen raised his right hand to the usual position.

“A little higher,” Issa commanded.

Laughter rippled through the hearing room.

Issa glared down from the dais. Although a swearing-in ritual is not usually a time for badgering the witness, he couldn’t help himself. “You certainly have some explaining to do,” he said.

The bullying was vintage Issa, in his last year as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He followed the stunt with frequent interruptions of colleagues to inject his thoughts, parliamentary arguments with Democrats and takings of personal umbrage. He thought it helpful to mention his own “experience as a CEO.”

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