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twotap
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CBS News) -- House Republicans investigating the Fast and Furious scandal plan to pursue a contempt citation against Attorney General Eric Holder, senior congressional aides told CBS News.
The resolution will accuse Holder and his Justice Department of obstructing the congressional probe into the allegations that the government let thousands of weapons fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
The citation would attempt to force Holder to turn over tens of thousands of pages of documents related to the probe, which has entered its second year.
For months, congressional Republicans probing ATF's Fast and Furious "Gunwalker" scandal - led by California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, have been investigating a contempt citation. They've worked quietly behind the scenes to build support among fellow Republicans, since it could ultimately face a full House vote.
CBS News has confirmed that House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, was provided a 48-page long draft by Issa, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
"While there are very legitimate arguments to be made in favor of such an action, no decision has been made to move forward with one by the Speaker or by House Republican leaders," a Republican leadership aide told CBS News.
Government's answer to "Fast and Furious" records requests: Blank pages
Congressional staffers involved in the discussions say leadership approval is not needed for the Oversight panel to proceed. However, Boehner would have to okay any vote taken by the full House of Representatives.
A Justice Department official told CBS News it has been complying with Congress' investigation, doing twice-per-month production of documents since last year, providing more than 7,300 pages of documents. The official says the Attorney General has testified on Fast and Furious or gunwalking "no less than seven times and...provided more than a dozen officials for hearings, briefings and interviews."
Government's answers to "Fast and Furious" records request: Blank pages
The top Democrat on the panel slammed Issa's move as part of "an election-year witch hunt against the Obama administration."
"Leaking a draft contempt citation that members of our committee have never seen suggests that you are more interested in perpetuating your partisan political feud in the press than in obtaining any specific substantive information relating to the committee's investigation," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, referring to a report in the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the plan.
"These actions undermine the credibility of the Committee, as well as the integrity and validity of any contempt actions the Committee ultimately may choose to adopt in the future.
How does a contempt proceeding against the executive branch work?
Both Democrats and Republicans have used it, but rarely. After former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten refused to comply with congressional subpoenas on the George W. Bush administration firing of U.S. attorneys in 2008, the Democrat-led House voted to hold them in contempt.
The House then went to a federal district court seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction ordering Miers and Bolten to comply with the subpoenas. The district court ruled in favor of the House, the ruling was subsequently stayed, and a compromise was reached.
Under President Clinton, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Janet Reno in contempt over documents regarding campaign finance law violations.
In the case of Holder and Fast and Furious, the Oversight Committee's contempt resolution could eventually have a full House vote and, if passed, Congress could seek enforcement through federal courts. Passage of the resolution itself could, however, encourage the Justice Department to comply even without a court order.
The Justice Department has maintained it is cooperating with the investigation and has made more than 6,400 pages of documents available for congressional review. However, congressional investigators say the Justice Department has supplied the documents piecemeal and highly redacted, and that tens of thousands of pages of internal documents are responsive to congressional subpoenas.
A contempt citing by Congress against the executive branch, a strong sanction, is considered by some to be politically risky; especially if it doesn't succeed. Sources say that's why Republican staffers have taken a great deal of time trying to build support among colleagues in advance of the citation's formal release, which could come in the next few weeks if not sooner. |
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"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Thu May 10, 2012 6:44 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The top Democrat on the panel slammed Issa's move as part of "an election-year witch hunt against the Obama administration."
"Leaking a draft contempt citation that members of our committee have never seen suggests that you are more interested in perpetuating your partisan political feud in the press than in obtaining any specific substantive information relating to the committee's investigation," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, referring to a report in the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the plan.
"These actions undermine the credibility of the Committee, as well as the integrity and validity of any contempt actions the Committee ultimately may choose to adopt in the future.
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Thu May 10, 2012 7:41 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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2 hours ago
GOP leaders go slow on Eric Holder contempt vote
Issa alleges that Holder failed to turn over enough documents about the operation. | AP Photo
Close
By JOHN BRESNAHAN and JAKE SHERMAN | 5/10/12 12:00 AM EDT
Hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt? Not so fast, says House Republican leadership.
Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California have decided to slow Rep. Darrell Issa’s drive to hold the attorney general in contempt over the controversial Fast and Furious program, a move that could infuriate conservatives who have been calling for Holder’s resignation.
The delay could be a month or even longer, according to lawmakers and aides familiar with the issue.
Some within House GOP leadership circles would like Issa to abandon his plan for a committee and floor vote, which was sparked by a 64-page memo last week, which laid out the case for contempt.
They fear negative political fallout from citing the U.S. attorney general with contempt of Congress in an election year.
House GOP leaders are remaining mum on their plans. On Wednesday, Boehner, Cantor and McCarthy met privately — without any staff present — to discuss how to handle what many House Republicans complain is a glacially slow investigation into the scandal, according to several sources with knowledge of the meeting. Under the Fast and Furious program, federal agents allowed roughly 2,000 guns illegally purchased in the United States to “walk” to Mexican drug cartels as part of a botched plan to track down who was behind the purchases. Two U.S. law enforcements agents, as well as dozens of Mexican citizens, were killed by weapons obtained through the program.
Republican leaders are pushing Issa to do more committee work and to build bipartisan support for the contempt resolution before they let it come to the floor for a vote.
But Republican leadership’s resistance to a contempt vote is a major development in the Fast and Furious scandal and one that risks the wrath of the conservative movement. The botched federal program has become a cause célèbre for conservatives, who cite it as an example of what they consider a corrupt and reckless government.
Issa, in an interview with POLITICO, said he’ll disburse his 64-page memo on the issue to Democrats and make his staff available for further information. Issa alleges that Holder and senior Justice Department officials have failed to turn over enough documents about the controversial Fast and Furious operation or make key witnesses available for interviews.
Yet despite the detailed committee memo and more than a year of hearings, GOP leaders still don’t think the case is “rock solid,” according to an aide.
The three top House Republicans are worried about both the legal and political implications of the move, especially six months before what is already expected to be a razor-close election. And now, committee sources say they’ll have to wait at least another month — or even longer — before the panel even brings up the contempt measure.
“To date, we’re not getting new [documents] from the administration,” Issa said in an interview with POLITICO. “I’m hoping that Democrats will go to the president or Holder and say, ‘Hey, we disagree; we think you do need to provide certain information.’ Is it good to be cautious and reluctant in pressing an issue like this? Yeah.”
Issa also said he’s still working with whistleblowers who have come forward with information on the program, a joint effort between DOJ and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. And he’ll meet with Democratic leadership, too. The administration says it's working on complying with Issa’s request.
“I’m more likely to meet with [House Minority Whip] Steny [Hoyer] next than with [Cantor] because we’re trying to get cooperation,” Issa said. “We’re not trying to make this a partisan issue. It was a felony stupid operation, and that’s … more or less been said by people in both parties.”
Authors:
John Bresnahan (jbresnahan@politico.com)
, Jake Sherman (jsherman@politico.com | @JakeSherman)
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76135.html#ixzz1uTDdtSBk |
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Thu May 10, 2012 7:49 am |
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twotap
F L I N T O I D
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| So whats Obama and Holder hiding?? Turn over the documents and put it to rest. |
_________________
"If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times. |
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Thu May 10, 2012 12:03 pm |
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