Darrell Issa Asks To 'Observe' Next Round Of TPP Negotations

from the sweet-home-san-diego dept

Wed, Jun 27th 2012 7:39am — Mike Masnick

Starting next week, the next round of negotiations in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be taking place in San Diego. We've been discussing how the USTR has been fine with giving lobbyists like the MPAA full access to the text, which they can read any time via their own computers. However, when it comes to Congress, the access is much more limited. Only elected officials -- not any of their staff members, even if they have the proper "security clearance" -- get to see the text, and they can only see it in a designated room (not on their computers) and they're not allowed to make copies, take notes or bring any staffers to help.

Given that the next round of negotiations is in San Diego, and Rep. Darrell Issa's district covers part of San Diego, he thought he might as well drop by and "observe." He's sent the USTR a letter requesting the ability for him and some staffers to be present and observe the negotiations. It will be interesting to see how the USTR responds.

It has come to my attention that the 13th Round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will take place in San Diego, California from July 2-10, 2012. Given the immense impact that this agreement will have on many areas of the American economy, including intellectual property, I respectfully request that you allow me and certain members of my staff to be present as observers for this round of negotiations.

It is my hope that observing the negotiating process firsthand will help to alleviate some of my concerns about the process through which the agreement is being negotiated.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: darrell issa, ron kirk, san diego, tpp, transparency, ustr

28 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Cory of PC (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 7:46am

I sure hope Mr. Issa does get his hands on the TPP and get it to where the public can read it. Though it's a little too much to ask, but who knows?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Jay (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 7:52am
  
  Re:
  He's a fraud. I don't expect much to come from this.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - :Lobo Santo (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 7:55am
    
    Re: Re: Gray Flag Operation
    You could at least expect a nice, fake TPP which "the people" can believe in--at minimally decide isn't worth their time to protest about.
    
    Ya know, like: "That ought'ta shut 'em up while we get this sh&t done. Good work, Issa. Here's the hookers & blow we promised. Now beat it."
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward of Esteemed Trolling (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:59am
  
  Re:
  It is a way for corporations to be exempt from the law.
  
  All you need to know really.....
  
  "We will not negotiate bilateral trade agreements that stop the government from protecting the environment, food safety, or the health of its citizens; give greater rights to foreign investors than to U.S. investors; require the privatization of our vital public services; or prevent developing country governments from adopting humanitarian licensing policies to improve access to life-saving medications""
  
  Take that quote from Obama.... as completely the opposite !
  
  The sauce....
  
  LEAKED DOCUMENT:
  The New Corporate Powers
  
  LEAKED DOCUMENT:
  Darrell Issa Leaks Key Text Of Trade Deal (IP-Chapter-Proposal)
  
  ARTICLES:
  obama-mexico-TPP
  document-leak
  darrell-issa-TPP-Leak
  Issa Leaks Trans Pacific Partnership Intellectual Property Rights Chapter
  
  VIDEO (for you TL;DR phaggots)
  What Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?
  Obama Trade Deal To Put Corporations Above The Law
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Louis Smith (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 7:54am

Best case scenario
"No".

"Okay, Congress will just vote the USTR out of existence."

yeah, I know - total fantasy - but wouldn't it be funny?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 7:59am
  
  Re: Best case scenario
  They could just defund it.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:34am
    
    Re: Re: Best case scenario
    [Congress] could just defund [USTR]
    
    Presumably, the President would veto a bill defunding the USTR. Does Congress have the votes to over-ride a veto?
    
    In truth, Congress has no power, save insamuch as it chuses to exercise its will as a collective body.
    
    The framers hoped that the Congress would jealously defend its privileges and powers against encroachments from the executive�much as Parliament had struggled against Crown prerogative up thru the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and beyond.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Chargone (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:01am
      
      Re: Re: Re: Best case scenario
      ... too much so, in some of the former dominions, actually...
      parliament with total control is as bad as the monarch having total control... either is a loss of separation of powers. in Practice, if not yet on paper, parliament has usurped the role of the monarch (except the monarch's role as final court of appeal, here... the created a new court to take that one... it'd be nice to have govenors who actually took their role as representative of the interests of the monarch seriously...) this is no more a good thing than the reverse would be.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- gorehound (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:28am
  
  Re: Best case scenario
  And who knows what Issa will do as he will be offered a fat check from MAFIAA to lay off.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
BeaverJuicer (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 7:55am

He will be able to observe...

From a designated room, with no ability to take notes, make copies, or have staff to help. Oh, and don't expect them to pipe the audio into the room for him either. Transmitting audio of any sort would open them up to lawsuits, license fees, etc from the RIAA.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:15am

got more chance of returning unscathed from a trip to the Sun! what is more important is, what is he going to do that will have any positive effect at all, when he is turned down?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:20am

What we should do is go over there and protest.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:37am
  
  Re:
  Maybe even get Issa to show up and protest if they refuse him? Would be pretty bad ass to have a congressman get arrested for protesting the TPP's secrecy.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 11:36am
    
    Re: Re:
    Get Issa to show up for something other than a national camera opportunity? Good luck.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:43am

Why would USTR let him in after he leaked a draft version?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Mike Masnick (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 4:48pm
  
  Re:
  Why would USTR let him in after he leaked a draft version?
  
  He didn't. He posted a version that had been leaked widely a year earlier.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Baldaur Regis (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 8:49am

1st point: I find it ASTONISHING that a US representative could fit a cogent, reasonable request on a single sheet of paper. Doesn't he have ANY legal training?

2nd point: if admitted, I sincerely hope he's brought enough No-Doze for his entire posse. Me, I'll wait for the movie, where Ambassador Kirk,(played by William Shatner yay!) single-handedly saves western civilization through the clever and bold tactic of comma-placement. I'll probably torrent it, but not until the R5 rips come out. I'm not in so much of a hurry to suffer through a TS cam job.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:05am

Perhaps the next time a congressional committee meets in private persons in the executive branch should request being present at the meeting so that they can better understand what they will later be expected to implement.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- btr1701 (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 10:39am
  
  Re: Deal
  > Perhaps the next time a congressional committee
  > meets in private persons in the executive branch
  > should request being present at the meeting so that
  > they can better understand what they will later be
  > expected to implement.
  
  Fine, as long the RIAA, MPAA, etc. ate treated like the rest of us private citizens and excluded from both.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
RD, 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:09am

How the USTR responds to Issa's request
"It will be interesting to see how the USTR responds."

That is easily predicted.

It will be a big fat "GFY" and more tone-deaf stonewalling. It's going to take a court-order or an act of Congress (ha! good luck with that) before any oversight is allowed on any of this garbage.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:32am
  
  Re: How the USTR responds to Issa's request
  It's going to take a court-order or an act of Congress (ha! good luck with that)
  
  ISTM, that parenthetical should be behind the first alternative.
  
  See, just for example, Made in the USA Foundation v United States (11th Cir.; 2011):
  
  We nonetheless decline to reach the merits of this particular case, finding that with respect to international commercial agreements such as NAFTA, the question of just what constitutes a "treaty" requiring Senate ratification presents a nonjusticiable political question. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal and remand with instructions to dismiss the action and vacate the decision of the district court.
  
  (Emphasis added.)
  
  The �political question� doctrine really means that when the legislature begins to tangle with the executive over their respective powers and privileges, then the judiciary possesses the good sense to duck for cover.
  
  Both the Congress and the President have awesome powers�when they have the will to bring those powers into play.
  
  The courts will do their damndest to keep from taking sides in these disputes.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - btr1701 (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 10:49am
    
    Re: Re: How the USTR responds to Issa's request
    > The courts will do their damndest to keep from taking sides
    > in these disputes.
    
    That's not been my experience. I took a whole separate class in law school on the Separation of Powers, and the body of constitutional law on the subject is rather extensive. The courts aren't shy about ruling on such things when there is a clear overstep by one branch on the other.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
    - Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 11:04am
      
      Re: Re: Re: How the USTR responds to Issa's request
      The courts aren't shy about ruling on such things when there is a clear overstep by one branch on the other.
      
      Well, a more sophisticated (or merely cynical) view would be that the courts will rule on such things whenever their political intuition tells them that they can increase the power of the judicial branch.
      [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 10:26am
  
  Re: How the USTR responds to Issa's request
  He actually has a bigger stick than that: hearings. Those can tie up TPP for years.
  
  Whether he has the will or political capital to use that stick, though, may be a different matter.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:14am

"We must decline your request, as it may cause acts of terroism, cyberwars and/or harm children on the internet."

=P
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
ebilrawkscientist (profile), 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:26am

Cam/SMS-Leak
*blinks* is reminded of a Torchwood episode (series 2, Reset) where they had these like nifty camera/SMS contact lenses; also featured later in Children of The Earth, episode in the following series.

This would be ideal. Someone with access just needs to adapt a pair of glasses to do something similar so the public can finally get a full leaked copy of this TPP stuff huh? C'mon its time has come!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 27 Jun 2012 @ 9:27am

if he's got the balls, Issa should just turn up and see what sort of reception he gets from Kirk and Co (the entertainment industries representatives). if he made sure the press were in attendance to report on the outcome of him being refused entry or being escorted out of the meeting, it would be entertaining. the reasons for refusing a congressman entry to a meeting that corporate representatives were attending and was funded by tax payers money, would be priceless.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Cassandra, 27 Jun 2012 @ 10:11am

Wow...
Issa has some shortcomings, but at least he has some friggin sense in his head. I've already seen petitions going about against this, apparently a few chapters have been leaked so far and it does NOT look good for us internet junkies.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]