Rep. Issa/gov photo

It may be a new year, but the controversy surrounding ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious isn’t going away any time soon.

The latest: Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), head of House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced Thursday that a subpoena has been issued for Patrick J. Cunningham, Chief of the Criminal Division in Phoenix.

A press release said that “Mr. Cunningham’s repeated refusals to testify voluntarily have forced the Committee to use compulsory process.”

“During the course of our investigation, the Committee has learned of the outsized role played by the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office – and you specifically – in approving the unacceptable tactics used in Fast and Furious,” Chairman Issa wrote to Cunningham in a letter informing him of the subpoena.

“Senior Justice Department officials have recently told the Committee that you relayed inaccurate and misleading information to the Department in preparation for its initial response to Congress, ” the letter said.

“These officials told us that even after Congress began investigating Fast and Furious, you continued to insist that no unacceptable tactics were used. In fact, documents obtained confidentially just last week appear to confirm that you remained steadfast in your belief that no unacceptable tactics were used, even after the Department’s initial response to the congressional inquiry. Given that the Attorney General has labeled these tactics as unacceptable and Fast and Furious as ‘fundamentally flawed,’ this position is startling.”

In the letter dated Jan. 18, Issa wrote that Cunningham had cancelled his voluntary interview with the committee that was set for Jan. 19.

The subpoena requires Cunningham to appear on Tuesday, January 24 for a deposition.