Republicans Demand All Communications Between SEC, the White House, Democrats and Congressmen

This could be fun.

Rep. Darrell Issa, the top Republican on the House Oversight committee, is demanding documents from the SEC, asserting that the timing of civil charges against Goldman Sachs raises “serious questions about the commission’s independence and impartiality,” reports Politico.

Issa’s letter, addressed to SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro and signed by eight other House Republicans, asks whether the commission had any contact about the case, prior to its public release, with White House aides, Democratic Party committee officials, or members of Congress or their staff.

Others who signed the letter include, Republican Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Jason Chaffetz of Utah, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, Dan Burton of Indiana, John Mica of Florida, Blaine Luetkemeyer of Missouri, Aaron Schock of Illinois and Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana.

Poltico goes on to report that:

Issa implied that the timing was a bit too convenient, saying President Barack Obama’s push on Wall Street reform “neatly coincided with the commission’s announcement of the suit.”...The 1,000-word letter, with 11 footnotes, also demands that the SEC “identify all known communications by any commission employee or employees with The New York Times or other news outlets prior to the commission’s public announcement of the suit. If you are unaware of any such communications, please certify as such and explain what steps the commission has taken to identify any individual(s) who may have engaged in unauthorized disclosure of information.”

NYT broke the story before the SEC made a formal announcement.

The full letter to SEC Chairwoman Schapiro is in the EPJ Vault, here.