Six freshman representatives from the House Judiciary Committee have called on the House GOP leadership to move forward with contempt charges against Attorney General Eric Holder in the ongoing investigation of Operation Fast and Furious. They are Ben Quayle and Tim Griffin from Arizona, Sandy Adams and Dennis Ross from Florida, Tom Marino from Pennsylvania, and Trey Gowdy from South Carolina. The letter recalled the major frustrations the Oversight Committee and the family of murdered of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry have with Mr. Holder. It reads, “The arrogance of evading a congressional investigation for self protection and the protection of cronies insults not only the Terry family but also all those whose lives are endangered by allowing guns to knowingly cross the U.S. border into the hands of dangerous criminals.”
High-level officials linked to Fast and Furious have been promoted or allowed to resign. No one within the government has been held accountable. We still do not know who thought of the gunwalking operation and who approved it. Congress has subpoenaed tens of thousands of documents, but Mr. Holder has failed to produce anything but a mere fraction of the total number requested. The representatives note that the majority of the documents given so far are redacted to the point they’re useless.
It doesn’t help the fact that Mr. Holder has given inconsistent testimony. “When testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on May 3, 2011, Attorney General Holder stated that he had learned of Operation Fast and Furious weeks prior to the hearing," the Congressmen charge. "However, when testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee over six months later, he admitted that his previous testimony before the House committee was inaccurate and he had known of the Operation months prior to the hearing.”
At the end, the representatives remind GOP leadership that 111 members of Congress have cosponsored Representative Paul Gosar’s resolution of no confidence in Mr. Holder. 128 members and 3 senators have called for Mr. Holder’s resignation as well.
Just last week, Speaker Boehner threw his full support behind the investigation. He said all options were on the table. Hopefully, Congress's investigation and punitive actions can result in justice for those who have been killed in this government scandal.
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