Rep. Issa: DOJ Holding Back Documents Deemed 'Embarrassing'

The Department of Justice is holding documentation back from the House Judiciary Committee concerning its methods of obtaining Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrants because they will reveal "embarrassing" activities, Rep. Darrell Issa said Friday.

"The highest level of classification, most people think is top secret, but it actually isn't," the California Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom."

"It's unclassified but embarrassing. [Former Attorney General Eric Holder, in 'Fast and Furious', some of that documentation still not given to us."

The fact is, he continued, is "embarrassing is not what they want. The next level is illegal."

In this case, "the material that [Chairman] Devin Nunes is looking for will embarrass, no question at all, the Department of Justice and the FBI," said Issa. "It is likely to represent misconduct if not breaking of the law."

Issa said the committee is "clearly on" to information saying that the DOJ and FBI exceeded their authority, including with FISA warrants.

"All the way back to when the Patriot Act was put in place, many of us on the more libertarian side were concerned there were potential abuses," said Issa. "Each time we've done reauthorization, each time we've looked at the record, we found that the Department of Justice under Republican and Democratic administrations has failed to live up to the letter and the spirit of the law."

In the current case, "it appears once again if you're doing is going before a FISA judge and telling him and showing him just what you need to do to get what you want, not the complete truth in a way in which a judge might say I'm not going to give it to you."

The documents also don't come under a matter of clearance ratings of committee members, as there is no record of Nunes or anyone else on the committee breaking their clearances, said Issa.

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