Watchdog wants probe of Google's 'unusually close' ties to Obama

As House Republicans plan an ambitious oversight agenda for the next session of Congress, the National Legal and Policy Center is calling for a probe into a company that it says is far too cozy with the Obama Administration: Google.

The National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a group that advocates for a smaller and more ethical government, wrote to leaders of the House Oversight Committee this month urging them to investigate a major privacy breach by Google. It wants to know if the company's ties to the administration helped it dodge penalties after the incident. The group also urges a look at Google's ties to the administration more generally, pointing to what it calls "a growing body of evidence" that shows the administration's "unusually close relationship with Google has resulted in favoritism towards the company on federal policy issues."