When Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sent a letter on July 27 requesting information from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), we hoped commission Chairman Phil Angelides would finally respond appropriately to The Examiner‘s numerous requests for information and data on his panel’s spending and staffing. Issa is the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and he is well-known for aggressive and effective congressional oversight. Angelides had refused to provide The Examiner with information on the FCIC’s expenditure of tax dollars, or what compensation was being paid to commission staff, contractors and consultants. Even as Angelides, the former California state treasurer, was denying our requests, he was asking Congress for more money. But it turns out that this newspaper is not the only recipient of Angelides’ disdain. On Aug. 30, Issa revealed in a letter to oversight committee Chairman Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., that Angelides had responded to his letter “in a manner which can most charitably be described as perfunctory, ignoring all of the serious issues raised.”
