WASHINGTON — A House committee looking into a flawed gun-smuggling probe in Arizona announced Monday that it will consider holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress next week for failing to produce some documents the panel is seeking.
The committee has scheduled a contempt vote for June 20.
To date, the Justice Department has produced 7,600 pages of material to the committee.
Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, says Congress needs to examine records regarding the Justice Department’s conduct following public disclosures in early 2011 that hundreds of guns illicitly purchased at gun shops on the U.S. side of the border wound up in Mexico, many of them at crime scenes.
The Justice Department says many of the documents being sought deal with open criminal investigations and prosecutions — matters relating to sensitive law enforcement activities that cannot be disclosed.
“The Justice Department is out of excuses,” House Speaker John Boehner said Monday. “Congress has given Attorney General Holder more than enough time to fully cooperate with its investigation into Fast and Furious,” the name of the flawed law enforcement operation.
Issa said Congress has an obligation “to investigate unanswered questions about attempts to smear whistleblowers, failures by Justice Department officials to be truthful and candid with the congressional investigation and the reasons for the significant delay in acknowledging reckless conduct in Operation Fast and Furious.”
Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said that “from the beginning, Chairman Issa has distorted the facts, ignored testimony and flung inaccurate accusations at the attorney general and others, and this latest move fits within that tired political playbook that has so many Americans disillusioned with Washington.”
In a letter to Issa, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the move toward a contempt vote was premature because there have been productive staff discussions in two meetings over the past few weeks.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the attorney general has appeared eight times on Capitol Hill where he has undergone questioning about the problems in Fast and Furious.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, whose investigation first turned up problems in Operation Fast and Furious, said the action by the House committee “is straightforward and necessary. Contempt is the only tool Congress has to enforce a subpoena.”
What part of discovery Laws don’t these House Hillbilly Tea Partiers understand?
“Lets open an investigation in an open ongoing prosecution!”
You got to love it!
“They” ? hold the Judcial System in Contempt for engaging in the very Judicial Court Discovery laws and proceedings that Congress Creates!
This is only another attempt to create scandal fodder for their fight to defeat Obama and they are trying to get it out before the Election.
What part of a supeona do leftist morons not understand? Its not a pick and choose like Holder thinks it is. Its not optional that you comply with it (unless you are part of this criminal regime). This is the same regime that ignored an injuction from a federal judge on the drilling ban they put in place in the gulf. They make up their own rules. Before this is all over we are going to put some of these people in prison. And I just wonder if you also think Brian Terry’s death just “fodder for the fight” or was it a tragedy caused by our own government? It seems the deaths of innocent Americans (including Terry) dont bother you one bit, probably due to the fact that you’d rather support the murders and those who supplied them with arms because you agree with them politically. All in all a very sad post. You might as well just get a sign saying “I support Obama even when he breaks the law and innocents die because of it”.
While my heart goes out to the victum of that heinous crime and his family , I would like to present a quote by the Pro- Gun Lobby in defense of gun ownership!
{ Guns dont kill people , people do! }
The fact that the gun that was used to kill ( Terry ) was leaked to Mexican criminal in a very botched and poor undercover attempt it is irrelevant in the murder as it does not diminish the fact that the murderer did this , not the President , Holder, or any other government official and he did it in a willfull manner.
However,
It IS important to determine any malfesience in how these weapons came into possesian to criminals in Mexico. Yes, a full investigation is warranted.
If in fact there are open investigation cases protected by discovery laws meddling by the house with subpeonas to bring things to light could jepordise other agents as well.
” That ” if done for political reasons could be as reckless as the Fast and Furious was in itself.
Where as ,
{In a letter to Issa, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the move toward a contempt vote was premature because there have been productive staff discussions in two meetings over the past few weeks.}
Prudence demands that this should be done in a manner that leaves the Press out of the equation prior to any subpeonas for security reasons until a time that things can be accomplished safely.
Contempt?
As far as the Executive branch , ignoring the Judicial branch orders, lets not forget Andrew Jacksons responce to the Supreme Courts Decision that the Indian Nation was a soveriegn nation and that the executive branch needed to cease and decist.
{The supreme court may rule the courts but I rule the Armed Forces and these Indians WILL be of the Lands by a certain date or I will drive them off!}
Well I never knew that about Jackson, so thank you for the history. The next couple weeks are going to be very interesting to say the least.
I too would like to eventually see what truly went on.
Actually, Issa and Grassley are going after the middle man in the illegal Fast and Furious operation. Holder is only covering for his boss the President who many believe was the real driving force behind the operation. It was his attempt to generate a pretext to attack american citizen’s 2nd amendment rights “under the radar. . .” as he said to one of his liberal anti-2nd amendment supporters!
Plausible but pure speculation equal to the plausible but speculative notion that Dick Cheney hijacked two planes by remote control and drove them into the WTC.
Both of them are Out There hyperboyle.
Besides, if you really want to see how they could take your gun rights away without a wimper google NDAA and Joe Lieberman’s expatriation act, Beligerant act, and see where that leads you!
By far more convincing of a conspiracy theory on a Clamp Down on the 2nd amendmant rights when they determine that they can detain you indefinately without a trial if you show signs of being a Terrorist against the US.
Your guns aren’t going to do you any good in Gitmo!
“Terrorist”, Pretty broad coverage isin’t it!