By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years

The chairman of the House oversight committee on Friday subpoenaed the senior diplomat who ran the State Department's investigation into the Benghazi attack, saying lawmakers deserve to be able to depose him before he testifies publicly.

Democrats rallied behind President Barack Obama in the long-running, bitter dispute over the administration's handling of the Benghazi attack, arguing that the White House's latest email disclosure undermines Republican claims of a cover-up.

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle were asking questions Wednesday about the Justice Department’s subpoena of telephone records involving editors and reporters at The Associated Press, with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. expected to be asked about the matter during an long-scheduled hearing before the House Judiciary Committee

Angry Republicans won't have to wait long for their chance to question Attorney General Eric Holder about his role in the Justice Department's snooping on Associated Press journalists.

Democrats said Friday this week's dramatic House oversight committee hearing on the Benghazi terror attacks had created "potential misperceptions" among the public, charging Republicans had "attempted to distort and manipulate" the record at the hearing.

The White House on Friday said it was wrong for the Internal Revenue Service to target some conservative groups — notably ones that had the words "tea party" in their titles — during the 2012 election session.

The House's top investigator said Monday that he's worried about the administration's plans to shift money around to implement President Obama's new health law.

The House voted Friday morning to freeze civilian federal salaries for another year as lawmakers continue to look under every cushion for money they can squeeze out of the budget.

Congress' main investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office, has released its latest list of government programs at high-risk of waste, fraud and abuse, continuing a tradition of providing lawmakers with the report every two years at the start of a new Congress.
When President Barack Obama pledged unprecedented openness in government on his second day in office, his Justice Department dispatched a missive laying down the new rules for all federal agencies.
Baltimore Ravens defensive end Arthur Jones is among those NFL players who want the league and the union to finally agree on a way to do blood testing for human growth hormone.

During his confirmation hearing to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as Secretary of State, John Kerry stressed that America needed to get its fiscal house in order for him to be able to do his job. Darrell Issa had some harsh words in response.
The next time you hear government officials insist they're doing all they can to save federal money or ensure safety, consider this: the U.S. Transportation Department has yet to complete more than 600 action items, some dating back to 2004, that were recommended by its internal watchdog to help protect taxpayers.

Two years after weapons found at the site of the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent were traced to the failed Fast and Furious gunrunning investigation, a senior House Republican who led committee hearings into the shooting and the operation says there has been "real accountability" for those whose actions contributed to the death and Justice Department officials who failed to properly oversee the operation.
Accusing the NFL players' union of "trying to back out" of an August 2011 agreement to start checking for human growth hormone, a congressman worried aloud Wednesday that the league will head into next season without a test for the banned drug.
He said both Mr. Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen, who headed the ARB with Mr. Pickering, have said they would testify at a public hearing, which should be good enough.