House panel expands probe of information requests

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WashingtonPost.com:

WASHINGTON -- The new Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee cited discrepancies Tuesday between internal government documents and statements by a senior political adviser in the Homeland Security Department about how the government responded to requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act from citizens, journalists and others.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said he intends to interview the adviser, Chief Privacy Officer Mary Ellen Callahan, and other political appointees as part of a widening investigation into the department's practice of sidetracking hundreds of requests for federal records to top political advisers, who wanted information about those requesting the materials. In some cases the release of documents considered politically sensitive was delayed, according to more than 1,000 pages of e-mails obtained last year by The Associated Press.

Callahan met in September with congressional investigators, months after AP's reporting on the case, and assured them that the government was not inappropriately interfering with requests for records. Issa said Callahan's assurances and a pending review by the Homeland Security inspector general's office persuaded him to put his investigation on hold, until new materials that Issa obtained weeks ago raised further questions. Issa did not describe the new materials in his letter Tuesday. The inspector general's audit has not yet been made public.