One week after he released partial transcripts of interviews with IRS officials involved in the scandal surrounding the targeting of conservative groups, the chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said releasing the full transcripts would be "reckless" and "irresponsible."
Responding specifically to criticism from Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking Democratic member of the committee, Issa said that releasing full interviews conducted with IRS employees would hurt the ongoing investigation.
The position is a tenuous one for Issa, who during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" just over a week ago promised that the full transcripts would be released.
Unwilling to allow the partial transcripts Issa released to be the only evidence in the public record, Cummings this week also released segments of interviews. In a Sunday memo to his colleagues on the oversight committee, the congressman said that a manager in the IRS Cincinnati office who oversaw the nonprofit screening said that no one in Washington ordered him to employ the practice of targeting tea party groups.
Cummings, in a statement. "Chairman Issa changes his mind so fast that even when I agree with him, we’re not on the same page. I fully support responsible oversight, but cherry picking transcript excerpts to fuel partisan and unsubstantiated claims is not a credible or effective way to investigate."
Rep. Charles Boustany of Louisiana, a senior Ways and Means Republican who chairs the panel’s Oversight subcommittee, criticized Issa’s tactics, saying the release of partial transcripts could “adversely alter our ability to get future information from other IRS employees.”
