Chaffetz, Cummings demand TSA head comply with subpoeana

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) are demanding the acting head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) comply with the committee’s subpoena related to its investigation into the agency’s personnel practices.

In a letter to acting Administrator Huban A. Gowadia, Chaffetz and Cummings dismissed the argument of the acting general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, which reasoned that complying with the subpoena would violate attorney-client privilege.

“Your failure to comply with a congressional subpoena may result in serious consequences for you,” the letter reads. “We strongly encourage you to consider carefully the implications of continuing to ignore this subpoena.” 

{mosads}The subpoena, issued on March 17, asked that the TSA provide relevant documents by March 31.

The letter says that the committee’s objectives trump other interests and that the agency’s response to the subpoena on March 31 was not timely.

“The Committee’s need for the information responsive to the subpoena significantly outweighs any other interest,” the letter says. “The interests of the investigation into what appears to be the inappropriate conduct at TSA counsels in favor of a full and complete accounting of what has occurred.”

The House Oversight Committee has sent multiple letters to the TSA as part of its investigation. In early march, the committee conducted a hearing on the TSA’s transparency issues.