Issa Fires Spokesman

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) fired Kurt Bardella, one of Capitol Hill’s top press secretaries, after he provided e-mailed correspondence with other journalists to New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich.

Issa, in a statement Tuesday afternoon, said that the “information shared with Mark Leibovich appears to have been limited to Kurt’s own correspondence with reporters,” claiming that the internal workings of the committee — which include sensitive documents — had not been jeopardized.

Issa’s internal probe of Bardella’s participation in the book, which were prompted by a series of questions and a story by Politico Monday night, is ongoing.

“Though limited, these actions were highly inappropriate, a basic breach of trust with the reporters it was his job to assist, and inconsistent with established communications office policies,” Issa said in the statement released Tuesday afternoon. “As a consequence, his employment has been terminated.”

In a brief gaggle with reporters, Issa said that Bardella thought cooperating to this extent for a book was different than providing emails to another reporter. He said Bardella was “terminated for cause” and said his internal investigation would continue.

“Look, I think it not only hurts those of us who have worked with this very talented individual, but I think many of you that have worked with him — it’s clear he made an error in judgement and he’s no longer with the committee and we put out a statement that is accurate 100 percent accurate as to what we know,” Issa said Tuesday afternoon. “We’re not shy about making sure that we do due dillegence carefully and methodically and we dont take any longer than we have to but we also dont try to come out half-cocked.”