Republicans seek to hold attorney general in contempt over Fast and Furious

LA Times ^ | April 26, 2012 | Richard A. Serrano

[neverdem]

House GOP leaders draft a citation accusing Eric H. Holder Jr. and the Justice Department of hindering their inquiry into the ATF gun-tracking operation.

WASHINGTON — Republican House leaders have drafted a proposed contempt of Congress citation against Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. in which they charge that he and his Justice Department have repeatedly "obstructed and slowed" the Capitol Hill investigation into the ATF's flawed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation.

The 48-page draft citation is being drawn up by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Top committee officials recently met for most of a day in the House speaker's office and were given the green light to proceed toward a contempt citation, according to sources who declined to be identified.

If adopted by the GOP-led House, the contempt resolution would be sent to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington or perhaps an independent counsel in an attempt to force the Justice Department to provide tens of thousands of internal documents to the committee.

A contempt resolution would also escalate a political feud between Issa and the Obama administration. Earlier this week Issa called the Obama White House "the most corrupt in government history." At a hearing in December, he compared Holder to disgraced Atty. Gen. John Mitchell from the President Nixon era, a comment that prompted Holder to fire back in language reminiscent of the bitter Senate hearings led by former Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.): "Have you no shame?"

Holder and other Justice Department officials insist they are cooperating with congressional investigators. Holder said the department had responded to more than three dozen letters from members of Congress and facilitated numerous witness interviews. The department has submitted or made available more than 6,400 pages of documents, he said...

[DaveyB]

Hold him??? Jail him!!!!

Hang him for sedition!

[TigersEye]

ATF Publishes Misleading Trace Data From Mexico
April 27, 2012 | Katie Pavlich

The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.
April 02, 2009 | William La Jeunesse & Maxim Lott

Fast and Furious; 0bama's Bloodiest Scandal and its Shameless Cover-Up.
Video interview with author/journalist Katie Pavlich.

[A Navy Vet]

"I wonder why the article calls it a “gun tracking” program when the guns were not tracked."

From what I've learned from this deadly scandal is that the intent WAS to track the weapons so as to show how many US manufactured guns were "close" to reaching the Mexican drug cartels, and thereby give weight for anti-gun legislation and/or executive order. Unfortunately, the "controlling authority" didn't consider how corrupt and lawless Mexico is.

What amazes me, beyond the audacity of the DOJ trying such an ill-fated political maneuver, is how they thought they could actually track those guns once in Mexico. Of course, I'm not privilege to internal operations of Fedgov agencies so who knows what twisted thinking was going on? But Mexico? Really? What an ill-conceived operation.

I truly think that children with no commonsense are running our country. And yes, they have their socialist agenda and working it with their best political intellect. I'm just saying that they don't have enough smarts to NOT create such a stupid program.

If Rep. Issa gets his Contempt of Congress citation passed against Holder, it will be a huge issue for this election year. Yeah, the hard-core Repubbie Party folks will say we don't need the Dim counter of racism, divisiveness, and mean-spiritness. I say let it all hang out and fight them as hard as we can on everything!!! We need to stop letting the liberal/socialists define the argument. Take it back to them, and by the way, get rid of Boehner.

[A Navy Vet]

"Future Attorney Generals should not be appointed by the President where there is a partisan bias motivation. Future AGs should be appointed by a non - partisan panel from the Supreme Court and have Congress confirm them."

Not sure about the USSC appointing the Attorney General (Supremes are politically selected nowadays with the Senate rubber-stamping), but I like the idea of a non-partisan agency, much like the GAO that doesn't parse words when it come to economic stats. Did I just suggest another fedgov agency? Maybe in this case it would be justified.

Unfortunately, it will never happen without a Constitutional amendment because of the power of the Executive Office. Still, if you read deeply into the intent of the Founding Fathers, there may be some room for Congress to legislate. I'll look further and get back...

[A Navy Vet]

"What a brain dead job journalism is today."

Yup. Just think if there were still a Woodward or Bernstein who saw this for what it is? Deepthroat? This would be Deepkill!

It's now all about trying to get the anchor job on network TV. "LOOK AT ME! I'M IMPORTANT!".

Journalistic integrity is a lost concept. I so often wish that journalism studies and law studies would just shut down for awhile. Let them both diminish through attrition.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Thank you, the pleasure is all mine, sir.

[lentulusgracchus]

most in Latin America believe the Mexican war lords are entirely on the US Federal payroll and this whole thrust is an attempt by the Feds to dominate distribution ...

There was a time a few years ago when I'd have laughed in that guy's face, or at least challenged his sources. Now ....

You know what I keep coming back to? After the Edmonds story, that is -- Sibyl Edmonds, the honest woman who had such a hard time being heard, but finally got to testify to a closed-door session of the House committee charged with oversight (presumaby the committee Issa chairs now).

But more than all that, I keep recalling a photograph of the two Bush brothers strolling up an airport flightline sometime in the 80's or in 1990-91, sometime right in there. In Mena, Arkansas. I wish someone would tell me that picture was wrong -- that it was really taken at an air park in Austin or Dallas, or maybe Kennebunkport. Anywhere but Mena.

[lentulusgracchus]

We need to stop letting the liberal/socialists define the argument. Take it back to them, and by the way, get rid of Boehner.

Bump. Peter King, or Cantor, for Speaker. Issa or Tom McClintock, or Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for House Majority Leader. Michele Bachmann for Whip (then let Boehner tell her, like he did a year ago January, "It's not your turn yet").

[Safetgiver]

There is a reason Obama shipped weapons and grenades into Mexico.....Obama and Hillary were giving speeches a couple of years ago in which they said that 90% of the weapons used by cartels in Mexico were coming from America. They were called out by a researcher who quoted a Bush operation ( GunRunner, I think) that was aborted because “There is no iron pipeline” from US to Mexico. Obama and Hillary devised this plan, or had it devised, by underlings to bring the statistics up to snuff so they could say “TOLD YOU SO!” and begin restricting legal gun sales in the US.

[PghBaldy]

Don’t elect corrupt Presidents. That’s the problem. Obama and his minions do not care about the law. No need to change how AGs are picked.

[aces]

Sounds reasonable to me, we hear of trails of folks acting as pack mules crossing the border, this country in a “SWAG” consumes tons of marijuana a day, that amount is not packed in, it comes in large trucks and ships..that rarely get caught..they have government protection, then the federal “G”

gangsta ...runs the prisons..a full circle of distribution, selling, and incarceration all make money...

It is not Christian to jail folks for marijuana, all other drug use demand treatment, and training for jobs so that life can be productive..much cheaper path and morally superior..

[wiggen]

I hope Holder is charged but my sadly perpetually cynical self tells me that the left will scream election year politics and little else will occur except to harden the already hardened battle lines in this country.
The left will say he’s given so much already which is Holders argument and we will say it’s about what he has not turned over (lets not forget witnesses unavailable). Most of the media will focus on the former as is currently the case and little will change.
One last thought. Elevating this to a criminal level too soon only gives Obama a chance to use his pardon powers before he’s shown the door. I have posted 100 times that escalation needs to wait until Obama is gone and thus Holders shield with him. Unless of course the pubbies have no intention of Holder seeing the inside of a cell and are timing this so Obama can pardon him. The old we need to move beyond this mentality that politicians use to cover their behinds.

[Venturer]

I will believe it when I see it.

[DaveA37]

And the outcome of bringing the contempt charge will be nothing but a slap on the wrists. Probably something like, “Don’t do that again”.

[bert]

Since Holder is not a white man he is not subject to the same standards of ordinary practice and thus must be forgiven for his inability to function in his position. Ordinary decency demands recognition of the fact that affirmative action raised boys do not have the real capabilities to effectively perform the high duties to which they have been tasked. Any one who expects such equality should be ashamed.

[bert]

———Issa: Time to stop “seeking” and time to “DO IT”.———

I would really like to see the Critical Path Chart on the committee’s wall that lists the various tasks and time lines for carrying out the F&F investigation. It is likely as complex as that for the construction of a major building and involving the action and input of many, many participants.

The manager of the project must have a staffer superintendent who must keep the expediting heat on all those providing input. There are some activity variables with no estimable time line and surety of outcome but all must come together at a planned completion date.

What we are seeing is the unfolding of a carefully crafted campaign to expose and indict the administration for criminal activity. It can not be lightly undertaken and all the steps must be taken in the proper order.

Rep Issa is not making random actions in a catch as catch can fashion. He is not duplicating the Normandy invasion, but he is working his complex plan.

[LibLieSlayer]

We had an article on FR yesterday saying the boehner and Issa are locked in battle. boehner wants nothing to do with this and many in the House are screaming for holder's head.

LLS

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.

[shooter223]

Best explanation I have seen in a long time.

[kindred]

It seems to me that so many conservatives want to wait and allow the enemy to destroy our country while they wait for justice.
The man obama and his regime of dicatorial monsters are on the move to take over the nation while pubs prattle on.
It is to late for dc to be changed as they are rife with liberal marxists also. A conservative third party for conservative voters only should have been created after the McCain debacle but so many wanted to clean up the cess pool rino GOP and now we have more anarchy than before.
It may be too late to clean up DC.