It doesn't appear that the meeting between Eric Holder and Darrell Issa went well today. Based on a statement from Issa's office, it looks like the contempt hearing is full steam ahead tomorrow.
Via Issa's Director of Communications:
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa made the following statement after his meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:
“I had hoped that after this evening’s meeting I would be able to tell you that the Department had delivered documents that would justify the postponement of tomorrow’s vote on contempt. The Department told the Committee on Thursday that it had documents it could produce that would answer our questions. Today, the Attorney General informed us that the Department would not be producing those documents. The only offer they made involved us ending our investigation.
“While I still hope the Department will reconsider its decision so tomorrow’s vote can be postponed, after this meeting I cannot say that I am optimistic. At this point, we simply do not have the documents we have repeatedly said we need to justify the postponement of a contempt vote in committee.”
The only offer was stop the investigation?
Holder's refusal to be forthcoming today says one thing. He has decided it is more advantageous for him to be found in contempt of Congress than to honor the subpoena.
The next question that needs to be answered is, why?
"Bob, if the president cares so much about the plight of Mexicans who seek a better life, how did an operation like Fast and Furious, in which hundreds of Mexicans lost their lives, take place under his administration"?
Mitt Romney didn't say that... but he should have.
On Sunday, June 17th, Republican nominee Mitt Romney sat down with Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation and had no answer when it came to Obama's Executive Order granting amnesty to a million illegal aliens. He didn't insist that the real issue is Obama's lawlessness and he wouldn't answer the question about whether he would rescind the EO if elected.
Instead, he hemmed, hawed, and remained incoherent in his responses. It was like watching all the incremental gains Romney has made over the last several weeks get washed away thanks to self-inflicted, political cowardice.
The Republican establishment is known to fight with pitter-patter jabs while the left is constantly throwing haymakers. Sunday was the one opportunity for Romney to throw a knock out punch of his own and instead, he covered up. The Sarah Palin wing of the party waved their hands and rolled their eyes.
When the subject of the interview turned to why Romney thought Obama signed the EO, Romney would not overtly say that Obama did so for political reasons, saying only that politics were "certainly part of the equation."
When the Obama campaign decided to make hay over Seamus, the Romney family dog being stuck on the roof during family vacations, the Romney campaign came back with Obama, in his own words, saying that he ate dog in his youth.
When Obama claimed that the reason he granted amnesty to so many illegal Mexican aliens was because he truly cared for them and wanted to embrace their contributions, the Romney campaign should have pointed to the operation that has left hundreds of innocent Mexicans dead in what appears to be an attempt at gun control. Romney could have continued to hammer away at the fact that after 18 months, there are still no answers and even Attorney General himself said that more people are likely to die as a result of the operation. Here he is one year ago admitting as much to Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX):
Additionally, as the details of this scandal have unfolded, it continues to reach the highest levels of DOJ, DHS, State, and even reaches to the White House (Kevin O'Reilly). Romney didn't even choose the safest route, by asking Bob Schieffer why Eric Holder still has a job. Any objection raised by Schieffer could have been met with Romney asking, "Where does the buck stop, Bob"? Instead, Romney played defense.
It's really sad to watch Mitt Romney against Obama at a time when a strong conservative would absolutely be running away with this race right now.
Here is the incoherent, uninspired, and defensive exchange with Schieffer, via Washington Post (relevant portion starts at :20 mark):
