GOP Itching to Investigate Obama

Republicans are already preparing to launch a host of congressional investigations against the White House if they prevail in November, handing out subpoenas at a rate not seen since the Clinton administration, Republican staffers tell Politico. A group of would-be committee chairmen, led by Darrell Issa and Lamar Smith, are planning probes into everything from the bailouts to the Joe Sestak job offers to the New Black Panther party.

Staffers say the probes won’t be witch hunts. “How acrimonious things get really depend on how willing the administration is in accepting our findings,” said an aide to Issa, who’s already suggested impeaching Obama. But privately, Issa’s staff worries he’ll take things too far, and spark a backlash. The administration is preparing for the worst, too. “I actually think it will be even worse than what happened to Bill Clinton,” said a deputy White House counsel. (More congressional investigations stories.)