White House to Darrell Issa: Please don’t expect transparency. Issa to WH: HAHAHA no.

Really, what did they expect?

This is the story of the House Oversight Committee’s request to have White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park appear at a Wednesday hearing about the rollout of HealthCare.gov. The hearing, announced last Thursday, listed Park among the five witnesses – all members of the Obama administration – called to testify.

The White House had attempted to decline the invitation the day before, in a letter to Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)

[snip]

Issa responded the next day, noting that he was “disappointed” to receive the aforementioned letter and, as a means of expressing his disappointment, he issued a subpoena for Park’s appearance.

I mean, seriously: it’s not like the administration is going to make Sebelius’s old-new 11/15 deadline for a successful rollout anyway.  Besides, as Issa noted in his formal letter: if Todd Park can make time out of his schedule for the New York Times then he can also make time for the House Oversight Committee.  In fact, it should have been the other way around.

Via… various people on Twitter, sorry. It’s been a surprisingly busy morning.

Moe Lane

PS: I do not think that Darrell Issa, or the House Republican Caucus generally, cares overmuch if a website is mad at them.

PPS: Yes, I assume that this is going to be exquisitely painful for Todd Park.  Unless, hey! He could take the Fifth!  That’d get it over with quickly.