House votes and holds Attorney General Holder in comtempt
The House of Representatives voted Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for refusing to turn over documents tied to the botched Fast and Furious gun-running sting.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
The House approved a pair of criminal and civil measures against the attorney general, marking the first time in American history that the head of the Justice Department has been held in contempt by Congress.
House members approved the criminal contempt measure in a 255-67 vote. Almost every House Republican backed the measure, along with 17 Democrats. Shortly thereafter, the civil measure passed in a sharply polarized 258-95 vote.
Fast and Furious is the nickname for the discredited operation that has become a sharp point of contention between Democrats and Republicans in Washington involving gun running with Mexico to “catch drug cartel” members, but resulted in the death of a US border patrol agent and several Mexican citizens.
“In the real world Americans are expected to comply with subpoenas. Is the attorney general any different? No he is not,” said Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Florida. “The attorney general can stonewall all he wants. The attorney general can misremember all he wants. But whether he likes it or not, today responsibility will land on his desk.”
Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, warned that “even the attorney general cannot evade the law. (It’s) time for America to find out the truth. … (It’s) time for a little transparency. Today is judgment day. That’s just the way it is.”
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the “House needs to know how this happened, and it’s our constitutional duty to find out. … No Justice Department is above the law, and no Justice Department is above the Constitution.”
