WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- The chairman of the House investigations committee says he intends to subpoena U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in the Fast and Furious investigation.
Saying he wants to get to the bottom of two budding scandals in the Obama administration, Rep. Dan Issa, R-Calif., said on "Fox News Sunday" there were disturbing questions about the Operation Fast and Furious operation, which wound up allowing scores of guns bought in the United States to get into the hands of Mexican drug gangs, and about the $535 million loan to the now-bankrupt solar panel producer Solyndra.
Issa, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, called them "two of the issues that are causing Americans to lose confidence in their government."
Regarding the Fast and Furious affair, Issa said his committee would issue a subpoena to Holder to testify about the undercover federal intelligence operation aimed at tracking the gun trade between the United States and Mexico.
Issa said Holder "clearly knew" what was going on but was deferring for now to the Judiciary Committee, which has already posed the questions to Holder.
"The Judiciary Committee … has invited him to come and clear the record, because, clearly, he knew when he said he didn't," Issa said.
Issa said a special counsel should be appointed because "Holder cannot investigate himself."
Issa said Solyndra was shaping up to be a case of a political supporter of Obama getting preferential treatment in the administration's push for green energy. He denied, however, that green energy was the issue.
"[What] I am looking [at] was process followed," said Issa. "The American people have a right to expect that the rule of law will guarantee that even if we don't like the policy, that it's done properly. This is where I have a problem with how the money was spent."
