Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) added another plaque to his wall of shame during House hearings today looking into President Bush's commutation of the Scooter Libby's sentence. Ever eager to defend the President and the flagging hopes of the Republican Party, Issa accused outed CIA agent Valerie Plame of perjury.
Issa's previous career lowlights included his role in the firing of U.S. attorney Carol Lam and his pathetic weepy withdrawal from the 2002 California governor's race. But confronting Ambassador Joseph Wilson before the House Judiciary Committee, Issa reached a new low, accusing Mrs. Wilson of lying to Congress during her March 16, 2007 testimony. As FireDogLake recorded (note: not an official transcript), Issa leveled the perjury accusation:

"I believe that his wife will soon be asking for a pardon. She has not been genuine in her testimony before Congress, if pursued, Ambassador Wilson and Valerie will be asking to put this behind us. I do not believe this was good use of the Committee's time. I hope we will have a real debate about proper use of clemency."

Issa is not the first member of the President's increasingly desperate amen corner to claim Valerie Plame lied under oath. Fox News' Brit Hume, who earlier falsely claimed that it was "unlikely" she was covert, told his colleague Chris Wallace on March 18th that Plame lied under oath. Hume said her testimony about how her husband's trip to Niger came about "flies in the face of the evidence" and "I think that there is reason to question her credibility on that point."
In its own way, Issa's despicable outburst was to be expected. With 66% of Americans against President Bush's commutation of Libby's sentence, Issa knows the entire PlameGate affair is just another black eye for his increasingly moribund Republican Party.
All of which means Issa should have plenty of new lows to offer us as election day 2008 nears.