Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), incoming chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, attempted to provide cover Wednesday for his recent claim that the Obama administration was "corrupt." According to Issa, people are simply misinterpreting his use of the word.
"I think people misunderstand the meaning of the word corrupt, and obviously, CNN does. 'Corrupt', or 'corrupted' or 'failure', it's no different than a disc drive that's given you some bits that are wrong," Issa said on CNN.
Issa continued, "I have never said it's illegal. I've never made any of the statements that are often said on CNN that implied wrong-doing of the president at a criminal level, but I do believe that the American people have changed the control of the House in no small part because they saw more regulation, more misspending than they ever dreamed possible and they need Republicans to be part of the balance to bring that back under control."
Issa has been mounting a vocal offensive on the Obama administration as of late. Over the weekend, the California Republican continued talking up his plans for a series of investigations into the administration's actions, calling it "one of the most corrupt."
Last year, Issa referred to Obama as "one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times," an attack that he later walked back.
On Tuesday, Politico reported that Issa was seeking advice from major business interests as to which regulations he should put in the crosshairs going forward.
From their piece:
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants the oil industry, drug manufacturers and other trade groups and companies to tell him which Obama administration regulations to target this year.
The incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee - in letters sent to more than 150 trade associations, companies and think tanks last month - requested a list of existing and proposed regulations that would harm job growth.