The Hill News

Rep. Darrell issa (R-Calif.) emphasized Thursday that he was unaware and didn't approve of a former spokesman's forwarding of reporters' emails to other reporters.

Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said former spokesman Kurt Bardella paid a "high price" when he lost his job for sharing private correspondences with reporters.

But Issa rejected the notion, reported Monday by the New Yorker's Ryan Lizza, who authored an initial profile of Issa that set off the firestorm, that he was aware of Bardella's actions.

"There's no question, we did not know. No question, we did not approve of that," Issa said Thursday on CNBC.

Issa also accused Lizza of being very much a part of the controversy, f! ingering him as a possible source for reports that Bardella was sharing emails.

"The fact is that Lizza is at the center of this," Issa said. "He is in fact a source for creating the leak that made it public."

The revelation sparked a very much inside-the-beltway frenzy about the cozy relationship between reporters and sources. And that sparked even more frenzy to cover the frenzy.

Issa said he recognized that Bardella's actions were inappropriate, and he said the oversight panel, which he chairs, is held to a higher standard due to its handling of sensitive information.

The California Republican said, though, that Bardella and his hard work will be "missed."