Oversight Committee finds Holder in Contempt of Congress

Just received the following statement from Darrell Issa's office after his committee voted to find Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt on a party line vote:

“The Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt for his continued refusal to produce relevant documents in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. This was not the outcome I had hoped for and today’s proceeding would not have occurred had Attorney General Eric Holder actually produced the subpoenaed documents he said he could provide.

“The President’s assertion of Executive Privilege this morning took us by surprise but did not alter the Committee’s conclusion that documents had been inappropriately withheld.  Executive Privilege only applies to materials that directly pertain to communications with the President and his senior advisors.  This assertion indicates that the White House’s role in Operation Fast and Furious and the response to whistleblower accusations has been greater than previously acknowledged.  Just yesterday, the Attorney General indicated a willingness to produce a small subset of documents on the condition that the Committee end its investigation before they were described or made available for review. Today, the President asserted Executive Privilege to ensure they are never produced.

“At the heart of the Congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious are disastrous consequences: a murdered Border Patrol Agent, his grieving family seeking answers, countless deaths in Mexico, and the souring effect on our relationship with Mexico.  Congress has not just a right, but an obligation to do all that it can to uncover exactly what happened and ensure that it never occurs again.  After the Justice Department’s earlier false denial of reckless conduct, the Committee has a duty to pursue all options to gather and evaluate key evidence.

“I still believe that a settlement, rendering the process of contempt unnecessary, is in the best interest of the Justice Department, Congress, and those most directly affected by Operation Fast and Furious.  I urge Attorney General Holder and President Obama to reconsider their decision to withhold documents that would allow Congress to complete its investigation.”

 Five words. Reaches to the White House.

Holder Busted Lying... Again

Last week, while testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Eric Holder told Senator John Cornyn that his predecessor - Atty General Michael Mukasey - knew about gun walking and did nothing to stop it. That is a demonstrably false statement that Holder has now had to retract. He made the charge in response to Cornyn's call for his resignation.

Here is an excerpt from a memo from Senator Chuck Graslley that details the retraction. Via Washington Examiner:

The Justice Department has retracted a second statement made to the Senate Judiciary Committee. During a hearing last week, Attorney General Eric Holder claimed that his predecessor, then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey, had been briefed about gunwalking in Operation Wide Receiver. Now, the Department is retracting that statement and claiming Holder "inadvertently" made that claim to the Committee. The Department's letter failed to apologize to former Attorney General Mukasey for the false accusation. This is the second major retraction the Justice Department has made in the last seven months. In December 2011, the Department retracted its claim that the ATF had not allowed illegally purchased guns to be trafficked to Mexico.

Here is the exchange between Cornyn and Holder in which the Attorney General made the original charge that he has since retracted.

Video: Did Hillary throw Holder under the Bus?

At today's contempt hearing for Eric Holder, Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) once again referenced the Arms Export Control Act. This law requires any entity that sends weapons out of the United States (in this case, the Department of Justice) to get a written waiver from the State Department. In short, if Holder was involved in Fast and Furious and no written waiver exists, he's broken that law. If the waiver does exist, then Hillary's State Department is on the hook.

Here is Mack making reference to an exchange he had with Hillary last year. Note that Mack said today that the State Department informed him that no waiver was issued. Relevant excerpt begins at the 2:00 mark:



Here is the exchange between Mack and Hillary Clinton back in October that Mack referenced today:



If Mack is saying that the State Department has informed him that no waiver was ever issued to the Justice Department, Holder has a new set of problems courtesy of Hillary Clinton.

Video: Chris Matthews plays the race card on Fast and Furious

Let's see, for 18 months, Fast and Furious has been newsworthy. Those of us who have followed it know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it reaches to the highest levels of the Justice Department (at minimum). MSNBC - the propaganda arm of the White House - has practically ignored the story altogether. Now, as Attorney General Eric Holder is about to face contempt of Congress, Chris Matthews is all of a sudden an expert on the story and tells his viewers that it's a racially motivated witch hunt?

If we are to gauge Matthews' knowledge of Fast and Furious by how much he's covered it, he's a neophyte on the subject at best. Yet, he sees fit to imply that Holder's accusers, who have been investigating the scandal for 18 months, are racists by saying the investigation is 'ethnic' in its motivations.

The families of the hundreds of dead Mexicans who are victims of Fast and Furious should find that offensive. Were the motivations behind placing these guns in the hands of those Mexicans' killers 'ethnic' too Chris?

Via Daily Caller:



I don't believe Matthews is ignorant on Fast and Furious. He's just doing his job. The most well known part of this clip is Matthews saying it's his job to help Obama succeed but there's another part worth noting in the context of his charging that the motives of Issa and those who want justice in Fast and Furious are 'ethnic'. In this now infamous exchange from 2008, notice how Matthews says, 'it's the worst thing you can do in journalism is try to figure out motive'.