Darrell Issa's tangled business and congressional interests

Here on the third floor of a gleaming office building overlooking a golf course in the rugged foothills north of San Diego, Darrell Issa, the entrepreneur, oversees the hub of a growing financial empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars.


Just a few steps down the hall, Representative Darrell Issa, the powerful Republican congressman, runs the local district office where his constituents come for help.


The proximity of the two offices reflects Mr. Issa’s dual careers, a meshing of public and private interests rarely seen in government.


Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is a powerful congressional chairman who has been a vocal critic of Obama administration policies he views as anti-business. But his fierce advocacy for the business community, specific deals under federal purview, as well as federally-funded projects and congressional earmarks, has also netted him millions and raised the specter for conflict of interest, according to the New York Times .


The story details a congressman who has unabashedly maintained and increased scores of business interests as his profile in Washington has grown. Issa has ties to telecommunications companies and banks, among other interests.


The story notes that a congressional ethics committee probe was considered and then dismissed amid a lack of evidence that Issa had direct conflicts in his congressional role.


Issa’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hired staff that had deep ties to industry, including conservative billionaire activists David and Charles Koch and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, iWatch News reported in February.


iWatch News also profiled Issa , including his big PAC contributors and revolving door from his staff, after the November election sealed his chairmanship.


Issa’s committee also investigated whether a Democratic candidate in Chicago had received political favors from regulators; an inspector’s general report later cleared the bank .