Cummings: Issa ‘going rogue’ on Benghazi

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) late Tuesday said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is “going rogue” in the congressional investigation into Benghazi.

“I think he is going rogue,” Cummings said on MSNBC’s “Politics Nation.” “I actually believe that Chairman Issa is out of control, I really believe that.”

{mosads}Cummings explained Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said all Benghazi-related material would be under the jurisdiction of the new House select committee to probe the 2012 attack. 

As chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, however, Issa has subpoenaed Secretary of State John Kerry twice to testify before his panel.

The State Department has said Kerry would testify before only Issa’s committee.

“I think what he wants to do is question them about why he isn`t getting documents as fast as he`d like,” Cummings said of Issa.

Cummings serves as ranking member on both the oversight and select committees.

“If Issa really wanted to hear about some records that he hadn’t gotten, it would have been far more effective to bring in the custodian of records or somebody who was actually in charge of the records,” Cummings said, adding Issa’s actions are “very, very political.” 

Cummings said he has asked Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House select committee, to limit their review of the Benghazi attack so they don’t go on a “fishing expedition.”