New Business February 4, 2010, 5:00PM EST

Darrell Issa, Tim Geithner's Tormentor

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That wealth came in handy in 2003 when Issa gained national prominence as the key money man behind the campaign to recall Democratic Governor Gray Davis. Though he has long tried to be heard on issues ranging from immigration to Middle East affairs, it's Issa's calls for greater transparency of the massive $787 billion economic stimulus package and ongoing bank bailouts that have finally made him a national force.

His investigations rarely turn up smoking guns, but that's not the point. Instead he ties up his targets for months with hostile questions and subpoenas. Strategic leaking is also part of the package. The panel's investigative reports and subpoenaed documents often hit the news shortly before a hearing. "You in the press are our greatest resource," says Issa.

Issa says he will continue his probes into AIG and Countrywide. The Administration's stimulus spending and the $700 billion banking rescue will also be an ongoing focus of the panel, he says. Another target: the Federal Reserve and its chairman, Ben Bernanke, the "unindicted co-conspirator" at the panel's recent hearing on the AIG bailout, he says.

The Fed chairman, Geithner, who was president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank at the time, and former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. were slow to tell lawmakers about the extent of AIG aid even as they were beseeching Congress to pass the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program in 2008, Issa says. "They were disingenuous with us, even if they didn't outright lie." Spokespersons for all three declined to comment.

Under questioning from Issa and others, Geithner confirmed that he recommended paying AIG's trading partners, including Goldman Sachs (GS) and several foreign banks, full price to unwind their derivatives contracts. Still, Geithner said he was already picked to lead the Treasury and thus recused from the November 2008 decision not to publicly reveal the payouts. The recusal, never formalized in writing, speaks to Geithner's character, Issa says. "That's a Geithner story: He's there for the ribbon-cutting and not for the cracked road."

Issa says there will be more revelations to come regarding AIG and Countrywide, even as critics argue it's time to move on from the blame game. "Tarring and feathering someone is not going to fix this," says Bill Brown, a visiting professor at the Duke University School of Law and former Morgan Stanley (MS) managing director. Issa seems to be having far too much fun brawling to heed such advice.

Schmidt is a reporter for Bloomberg News.