Issa defends himself against Libya leak

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., angrily denied criticism he had endangered Libyan nationals by releasing names in sensitive documents.

Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, disagreed with quotes in the magazine Foreign Policy from an unnamed administration official, who said information was released by Issa about a Libyan human rights activist who was not "publicly associated with the U.S. in any other way" and called the revelation "a danger to her life,"Politico reported Monday. It added the information was included in 166 pages of documents accompanying a letter from Issa to President Obama, calling for more information on the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

"President Obama should be ashamed of yet another example where his administration has been caught trying to mislead the American people about what happened in Libya," he said in a statement released late Sunday.

Top Democrats, and members of Obama's re-election campaign staff, criticized Issa during the weekend for releasing U.S. State Department communications, which they said compromised the security of Libyans covertly working with the United States, The Hill reported Monday.

The activist in question "had actually been brought to the United States in December 2011 by the State Department and her trip is highlighted on the Internet," Issa said.