It’s only been about three months, but the tentative truce between House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and ranking member Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., is already facing its first big test. At issue is whether Issa will provide copies of whistle-blower documents to Cummings. According to Issa, the person who provided the material to the committee is that afraid Cummings’ staff will give the Obama administration a heads up on what’s been shared and leave the whistle-blower open to retaliation. In a March 21 letter, Cummings asked for copies of documents provided to the committee by Time Wise Management Systems CEO Rod Rodrigue relating to contracting irregularities at the Commerce Department. The letter included an attached email from Rodrigue’s lawyer that seemed to indicate he was open to letting the Democratic staff view the documents. Issa, in a March 26 reply obtained by CQ Roll Call, said, “while Rodrigue’s identity is known, he reasonably believes information contained in the documents may expose him to retaliation for blowing the whistle on waste and mismanagement at” Commerce. (more…)
