Eric Holder Found in Contempt of Congress

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 2, 2012
All Rights Reserved.                                         

                  Voting 255-67, the full House of Representatives voted to hold 61-year-old Atty. Gen. Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to respond Oct. 12, 2011 to House Reform and Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif) subpoena.  Democrats dismiss Issa’s investigation into the now defunct Fast and Furious Mexican “gun-walking” operation causing the death of 40-year-old Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in Rio Rico, Arizona.  Calling Issa’s investigation as election year gimmick, Democrats hoped to control the damage from what looks like a cover-up or a battle of wills between House Republicans and the White House.  “This is a sad day for the House of Representatives.  It is an irresponsible day for the House of Representatives,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), blaming the mess on Election Year political theater.

            Refusing to honor Issa’s subpoena, the White House decided to not play ball with one of the most rabidly partisan members of Congress.  Issa has assumed the House’s role as Obama-basher-in-chief, perhaps only exceeded by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who displayed sour grapes after the Supreme Court upheld President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul bill.  “It is a day in which the majority party asked us to take an action that has never been taken in the history of America,” said Hoyer, still not explaining the Justice Department’s reluctance to turn over requested documents.  Democrats believe Issa and Boehner jumped the gun calling so quickly for a contempt vote.  “The Justice Department did not provide the facts and the information we requested,” said Boehner, insisting the Justice Department misled Congress on Operation Fast and Furious.

            Clashes between the White House and Congress are all-to common in recent years.  It wasn’t that long ago the former President George W. Bush asserted executive privilege over minutes of Vice President Dick Cheney’s Energy Task Force meetings with oil executives, including the late felon of Enron fame Kenneth Lay.  No matter how many Freedom of Information Act requests, executive privilege prevented the public from seeing the minutes.  Former National Security advisor Richard Clarke suggested in his 2004 book “Against All Enemies:  Inside America’s War on Terror” that Cheney discussed going to war in Iraq.  Whether that’s true or not, asserting executive privilege fuels conspiracy theorists, endlessly speculating about the reasons for not releasing requested documents.  When Obama asserted executive privilege June 20, 2012, it made it impossible for Holder to release the documents.

            Botched White House covert operations can cause lasting political damage in election years.  Former President Jimmy Carter’s botched April 24, 1980 hostage rescue operation, causing the death of eight U.S. servicemen, damaged his reelection bid, handing President Ronald Reagan a landslide.  When Reagan’s own covert scandal, known as the Iran-Contra Affair, surfaced in November 1986, it caused all kinds of damage control and political fallout.  Fortunately for Reagan, the scandal hit after his 2004 victory over former Vice President Walter Mondale (D-Minn.).   Whether or not the Fast and Furious caper hurts Obama’s reelection bid is anyone’s guess.  Chances are it won’t have much impact approaching November.  “The Atty. Gen. can’t provide these documents—the president has protected them under . . . executive privilege,” said Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Penn.).

            Partisan excuses don’t play well in the public looking for real answers into the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.  Whether the White House or Justice Dept. likes Issa or not, Congress has the responsibility of investigating covert operations that result in the deaths of federal employees.  What’s Issa and Boehner supposed to do?  Pretend Terry’s death never occurred, despite ongoing lawsuits against the Justice Dept. and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms?  Whether Fast and Furious embarrasses the White House of not, Holder was not at liberty to stonewall.  “Today’s vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided—and politically motivated—investigation during an election year,” said Holder, blaming Issa and Boehner for a partisan witch-hunt.  Holder can’t call the investigation an Election Year trick when it’s been going on since Oct. 12, 2011.

            Before Fast and Furious engulfs the White House, it’s better to stop stonewalling and respond to Issa’s subpoena.  There’s plenty of excuses for well-intentioned but botched covert operations.  Given the violence and anarchy in Mexico, tracking down Mexican drug lords, by whatever means necessary, isn’t a bad idea.  There’s certainly nothing wrong with questioning the advisability of supplying guns to potential murderers.  Whether or not Border Agent Brian Terry was killed with the same guns supplied by the White House to track down drug kingpins, Congress needs unfettered access to the facts.  It doesn’t help things when the Attorney General refuses to hand-over requested documents.  Whether Issa’s being political or not, the White House should reconsider its position and provide the requested documents.  Stalling until after the election could eventually backfire.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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