Congress vs. Eric Holder: Will the attorney general be held in contempt?
Republicans accuse Holder of refusing to cooperate with their probe of the "gun-walking" scandal that put weapons into the hands of Mexican drug cartels
A House committee investigating the Justice Department's botched "Fast and Furious" gun-smuggling investigation plans to vote next week on holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, says Obama's attorney general isn't cooperating with the panel's effort to get to the bottom of the so-called gun-walking scandal, in which Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents let thousands of weapons "walk" across the border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels as part of a botched sting. How will this showdown end? Here, a brief guide:
First off: What is this "gun-walking" scandal?
ATF agents let suspects buy 2,000 AK-47s and other guns, hoping to catch them in the act of smuggling the arsenal to drug cartels in Mexico. Instead, they lost track of the lethal bait. Two U.S. law-enforcement officers have since been killed with weapons involved in the scandal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What does the committee want from Holder?
Republicans say Holder has refused to hand over documents subpoenaed in October. No one disputes that the Justice Department has already ponied up 7,600 pages of material to the committee, but Issa says some things are still missing — particularly, documents on "the claims of whistleblowers, and why it took the department nearly a year to retract false denials" that federal agents had allowed guns to make their way into the hands of Mexican criminals.
What does Holder say?
In testimony before the committee, Holder said last week that he had turned over everything Issa asked for. Democrats on the committee said their Republican counterparts were conducting a "witch hunt," and Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the contempt threat was "unfortunate and unwarranted." She also accused Issa of distorting the facts and ignoring the testimony of Holder, who has appeared before the committee eight times.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Would a contempt vote be unprecedented?
No. But it would be just the fourth contempt charge in 30 years to be launched by Congress against a member of the executive branch. In 1983, Congress found EPA administrator Anne Gorsuch Burford in contempt for failing to hand over documents; in 1998, the GOP-controlled House Oversight committee did the same to Attorney General Janet Reno over a subpoena on campaign finance law violations; and in 2008, the Democratic-led committee found former White House counsel Harriet Miers and Chief of Staff John Bolton in contempt during an inquiry into whether a purge of federal prosecutors by the Bush administration was politically motivated.
What happens next?
Expect a lot of behind the scenes wrangling between now and the vote, which is scheduled for June 20. Deputy Attorney General James Cole has offered to meet personally with Issa, and says he is confident that "the two of us, working in good faith," can reach a solution. But if they can't put to rest the "long-simmering dispute" between Issa and Holder, and the committee cites Holder for contempt, the matter goes to the full House, where Issa says he has 31 Democrats willing to vote against Holder. If the House approves, the case goes to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, who could file a criminal contempt. Though it's unlikely to reach this point, the charge carries a penalty of a month to a year in jail and fine of $100 to $1,000.
Sources: Buzzfeed, CBS News, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, USA Today
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Are 'judge shopping' rules a blow to Republicans?
Today's Big Question How the abortion pill case got to the Supreme Court
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Climate change is driving Indian women to choose sterilization
under the radar Faced with losing their jobs, they are making a life-altering decision
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'A great culture will be lost if the EV brigade gets its way'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Xi-Biden meeting: what's in it for both leaders?
Today's Big Question Two superpowers seek to stabilise relations amid global turmoil but core issues of security, trade and Taiwan remain
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published