How desperate has the White House become in trying to kneecap Congressional investigations into its operations?  Desperate enough to publicly harangue the media into writing about the investigators rather than the scandals themselves.  David Plouffe offered a bizarre (and slanderous) attack on Darrell Issa, and then wondered aloud why the media won’t look into his claims:

On Sunday, the flinty, self-consciously self-contained former White House senior adviser went Joe Pesci on the California Republican after Issa called Obama press secretary Jay Carney a “paid liar” on CNN over the ongoing investigation into the IRS-tea party scandal.

“Strong words from Mr. Grand Theft Auto and suspected arsonist/insurance swindler …” tweeted Plouffe, alluding to decades-old allegations that Issa, the chairman of the House investigations committee, stole cars and possibly torched his own business for the insurance money.

Both of these stories are old and discredited.  It was Issa’s brother who stole a car in 1972, not Issa, and the fire at his business in 1982 produced no allegations of arson or connections to Issa. (The only source for the arson charge was an employee already nursing a grudge against Issa, who had foreclosed on his business.) The fact that Plouffe had to dig through four decades for dirt on Issa should be an indication of his desperation to change the subject, and the desperation at the White House to provide another distraction.

Plouffe may find himself alone on this effort:

His decision to trash Issa in such a personal way stunned Plouffe admirers who privately fret about poking such an ambitious and unpredictable adversary in the eye, fearing it will only reinforce the California Republican’s determination to prove that the orders to scrutinize conservative groups came from high-ranking administration officials.

“I love Plouffe for doing it, but this may end up causing us more trouble in the long run,” said one longtime Obama aide, echoing the comments of several senior Democrats interviewed by POLITICO.

“Generally, those with subpoena power don’t get a two-by-four against the head,” said Issa ally Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), referring to broad authority vested in Issa as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“Does the White House really need to out-source the pit bull stuff?” added Chaffetz. “It was a very aggressive statement from someone who is known to be very calculating and sure of themselves. He is usually not one to just tee off indiscriminately, so they must think it serves a purpose. I don’t know what it good it does to have a guy that close to the president say that kind of thing.”

I’d guess this negates the “IRS scandal was too stupid to be political” defense, huh? Plouffe remains unrepentant:

“If he behaves himself I am happy to never think about him again,” Plouffe told POLITICO. “I do think it’s highly relevant for the media to examine Congress’s top cop both in terms of how he is handling the current situation but also his background. He is a man in the spotlight — the American people should and will be eager for more info on who the inquisitor is. … My tweet was aggressive, but sometimes that is what it takes to break through. … Is he a liability to the GOP and their scandal playbook?”

The “scandal playbook,” as Plouffe calls it, has more than one section.  As chair of Oversight, Issa has broad authority to conduct hearings and investigations into all of these scandals, but it’s not the only platform for those investigations.  House Judiciary chair Bob Goodlatte is threatening subpoenas over Holder’s false statement on May 15th.  Ways and Means (where Issa is a member) is holding a series of hearings into the IRS scandal.  Will Plouffe try digging up dirt on all of these committee chairs to throw in the air as shiny distractions for the media?

Well, he might … but after seeing what the Obama administration did with the AP and James Rosen, they don’t seem nearly as eager to go along with the White House media strategy.  And don’t bet on Issa to get intimidated by a cheap-talking flack.