Today, at the end of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s hearing on “Fast & Furious,” the committee found U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. The vote was 23-17, with 100% of the Republicans for it and 100% of the Democrats on the committee voting against it.
Sean Drury reports for Mauldin Patch that the contempt move is tied to Holder’s request on behalf of the Obama administration, to invoke Executive Privilege with regard to the release of documents related to the investigation of “Operation Fast and Furious.”
Fast and Furious was a program run by the The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that saw the agency sell high-powered firearms to Mexican arms dealers and drug cartels. The goal of the program was to track the weapons and then link to criminal organizations in Mexico and the United States. The program began in 2006 during the Bush administration under the name of “Project Wide Receiver.”
The programs, commonly referred to as “gunwalking” have seen over 2,000 weapons sold, 700 of which have been recovered. At least 200 Mexican citizens have been killed with weapons tied to “gunwalking” programs.
In December 2010, however, a US Border Patrol agent named Brian Terry was killed by one of the “gunwalking” weapons. Spurred by Terry’s death, an ATF agent named John Dodson (who now resides in the Upstate) reported his concerns about the nature of the program, which ultimately led to the investigation being launched by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
As the investigation intensified, calls were made for Holder to be more forthcoming and even for his resignation in some cases. In recent weeks, the committee asked for more documents to continue the investigation, but Holder invoked executive privilege saying releasing the documents would have “significant, damaging consequences.”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has announced that a full House floor vote will take place next week.
Here is Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) ripping into Eric Holder:
H/t FOTM’s beloved Hardnox!
~Eowyn
