Congressional investigations news stories on Newser

White House Investigates Loans to Energy Department

Mark Russell — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:34:12 CDT

In the ugly aftermath of Solyndra , the White House yesterday ordered a 60-day independent review of the Energy Department's entire loan guarantee program, reports the LA Times . The review will encompass three loan programs and about two dozen loans worth about $36 billion. "While we continue to take steps to...

GOP Itching to Investigate Obama

Kevin Spak — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:07:07 CDT

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...

WaMu 'Poisoned' Financial System: Senate Report

Kevin Spak — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:15:00 CDT

Washington Mutual made subprime loans it knew would go bad, then packaged them into risky securities, creating a “mortgage time bomb,” according to a Senate report. The permanent investigations subcommittee is grilling former WaMu execs this morning. The report also says the bank packaged and sold loans it knew were...

House Eyes Ethics Probes on 30 Members

Will McCahill — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:50:00 CDT

As the House ethics committee yesterday was voting to go forward with full investigations of Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson, it was putting out a bigger fire started when an internal document revealed more than 30 lawmakers were under scrutiny was leaked on the Internet. “No inference should...

Goldman Sachs Subpoenaed in Fraud Probe

Jason Farago — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:38:02 CDT

A Senate committee has subpoenaed Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and other financial institutions as part of an investigation into mortgage-market fraud, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The probe appears to focus on emails and other internal communications that may show bankers' doubts about the safety of mortgage-backed securities, which...

Bush Could Block Probes Even After He Steps Down

Rob Quinn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:34:31 CST

President Bush may be able to maintain his executive privilege to block investigations even after he leaves office, the New York Times reports. Harry Truman successfully claimed he had the right not to testify in 1953, nearly a year after he left office, and Richard Nixon later used Truman's case...

Senate to Hold Drug Water Hearings

Zach Samalin — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:50:26 CDT

Alarmed by an AP story, two top senators vowed yesterday to probe drug traces in US drinking water. Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Frank Lautenberg plan to lead hearings next month to "protect our residents and clean up our water supply," Lautenberg said. The first of AP's three PharmaWater stories...

House Page Program Under Fire Again

Matt Cantor — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 15:07:49 CST

House leaders called for an independent investigation yesterday into “allegations” related to teenage pages after two Republican resignations from the House Page Board. The Republicans faulted House Clerk Lorraine Miller, a page program administrator, for not “immediately” alerting them to misbehavior. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, who resigned, said four pages have...

Budget Batters FDA Oversight of Foreign Drugs

Colleen Barry — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 04:10:08 CDT

The federal Food and Drug Administration's spotty record inspecting foreign drug manufacturers will be even worse next year as its budget drops just as developing countries are flooding the market with new medications, reports the Washington Post . Foreign drug plants are inspected only once every eight to 12 years because...