http://www.politicususa.com/darrell-issas-lies-create-uncomfortable-scrutiny-criminal-background.html
Transcript via MSNBC with slight modifications:
MARTIN BASHIR: Many of us don’t know much about him. Darrell Issa. He’s worth $745 million. He made that fortune largely by running a car alarm company which is funny because he was once indicted to stealing a car as well as one other arrest for carrying a concealed weapon, all of which I guess makes him the paragon of virtue and the man who can grandstand and treat with ranked discourtesy the attorney general, is that right?
ARI MELBER: Congressman Issa has been throwing out a lot of charges but there is finally some scrutiny of his background, both before serving in Congress and running the oversight committee. Ryan Lizza and “The New Yorker” as we discussed went in and looked at his record, looked at the indictment on the stolen car, an arrest for concealed weapons. Looked at Congressman Issa’s defense, often saying his brother who’s had trouble with the law was the target of these investigations. Also a lot of serious allegations about arson in a factory he owned although he says it was an accidental fire. Even before coming –
MARTIN BASHIR: Just on that, sorry, before we move off, that warehouse and that fire seemed to coincide with him just before the fire raising his insurance policy from $100,000 to $400,000.
ARI MELBER: That’s right. He took out a significant increase in the insurance and there was also an accident report that “The New Yorker” discovered that talked about the fact that the nature of the fire didn’t match up with the kind of — kind of accidental arson — nonarson, I should say, accidental fire that could have occurred.
On the oversight committee, I’m so glad you showed some of those clips just now because people have to understand a lot of those exchanges including Congressman Issa telling Eric holder you’re not a good witness, answer the question, kind of berating that is unusual treatment for our top law enforcement officer occurred a year ago in the fast and furious investigation.
And that led to the first contempt citation ever of a sitting attorney general. So Martin, when people say, oh, there’s always skirmishes, both sides do it, no. As a matter of historical precedent, this is the first time we’ve had a chair, Congressman Issa, take the oversight committee and hold an Attorney General in criminal contempt for what I wrote at the time were flimsy charges.
-------------------------
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01/24/110124fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=3