By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Did one of the top leaders of the DEA intimidate members of Congress while discussing a prescription drug bill?
That’s the claim by two Republicans – Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Tenn., and Tom Marino, Pa. – who say in a letter to the Justice Department’s inspector general that DEA Deputy Assistant Administrator Joe Rannazzisi accused them and their staff of “supporting criminals,” the Washington Post reports.
The Republicans want the inspector general to determine whether Rannazzisi’s “baseless accusations constitute serious misconduct by a Department official.”
“We believe an accusation of this nature from a DOJ official is totally unacceptable and does in fact constitute serious misconduct,” Blackburn and Marino wrote. “We have no other choice but to conclude that his statement was an effort to attempt to intimidate the United States Congress.”
The issue was over a bill that would offer a second chance for pharmaceutical distributors who violate federal regulations.
The DNA did not return the Posts’s request for a comment.
