Issa: Countrywide hearing to again be delayed

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's ranking Republican said on Wednesday that a vote tomorrow to subpoena embattled mortgage lender Countrywide Mortgage will likely not occur. 

Rep. Darrrell Issa (R-Calif.) has fought for months to subpoena Countrywide's records, but committee chairman Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) has refused to hold a vote on the matter. The dispute has recently sparked deep political division on the committee.

"Unfortunately there is a high likelihood that that hearing tomorrow will be canceled," Issa told MSNBC today. "The Democrats do not want the subpoena request that we've been trying to serve for Countrywide to be brought up because they don't have the votes, quite frankly."

Issa suggested that Democratic leaders on the committee may be preventing others on their side from helping to approve a subpoena.

"Many of their Democrats want that subpoena, which is now part of Bank of America's greater problem, which is how many sweetheart loans were given to government officials."

Last Thursday committee Republicans, led by Issa, were poised to force an open vote on the subpoenas at a mark-up meeting. The mark-up was abruptly canceled. Only Republicans showed up while Democrats chairs remained empty. 

Democrats yesterday changed the locks on the committee room to prevent Republicans from meeting without them. Towns's office said in a statement the locks were changed on Republicans "because they don't know how to behave."

Countrywide, which is now owned by Bank of America, is accused of giving "VIP" discounted mortgage loans to politicians and other officials who were in a position to influence policy regarding the company.

Towns, who received a mortgage loan from Countrywide but insists he was not part of the VIP program, has said he declined to launch an investigation because he does not want to interfere with an ongoing Justice Department probe into the matter.