There's a spat in DC over a demand by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for financial and membership records of two groups that appear before it. The groups and their Democrat allies claim they're being intimidated and bullied. Wisely, the LA Times sought out an expert opinion to evaluate those claims:
Rep. Henry A. Waxman of Los Angeles, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said: "There is not even any subtlety about this. This is a blatant attempt at intimidation and bullying so that experts will be afraid to speak out about a bill that rolls back air pollution protections for all Americans." (Link)
Good choice. Nobody in Congress knows more about using the power of a committee chairmanship to bully and intimidate witnesses than does Henry Waxman, who did it so well for so many years until the Gingrich Revolution finally put him on the sidelines.
