Congressman Continues his Charge Against AG Holder Over Fast and Furious

Republicans have long threatened to bring contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. in connection with the Department of Justice’s botched Fast and Furious gun-trafficking sting. Now they say they have taken the first step.

A copy of the draft charges and a memorandum written by Issa can be found here.

http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Update-on-Fast-and-Furious-with-attachment-FINAL.pdf

The Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), on Thursday sent out a 44-page draft of proposed contempt charges against Holder to the other members of the committee and said it would be discussed at an upcoming hearing.

“This briefing paper and draft contempt report explains the case, to both Members of the Committee and the American people, for holding Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress,” Issa said in a press release.

The charges are still a draft and no action has been taken. The draft charges say that Holder is in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with a congressional subpoena for DOJ documents, and Issa writes that he has exhausted all other available options to obtain compliance.

“The Department’s refusal to work with Congress to ensure that it has fully complied with the Committee’s efforts to compel the production of documents and information related to this controversy is inexcusable and cannot stand,” the draft charges read. “Those responsible for allowing Fast and Furious to proceed and those who are preventing the truth about the operation from coming out must be held accountable for their actions.”

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2012/05/congressman-continues-his-charge-against-ag-holder-over-fast-and-furious.html?cid=6a00d83451d94869e2016766141b0a970b