News Home

Attorney General’s Choice to Embargo the Truth Warranted Contempt of Congress

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued the following statement today upon the House of Representatives’ bipartisan vote finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his obstruction of the Congressional investigation into the Justice-sanctioned Operation Fast & Furious.

“The family of fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, the Border Patrol agents who served alongside him, and the American people all deserve to know the truth about Fast and Furious,” Congresswoman Foxx stated. “It is a tragedy their government has embargoed the honest details for so long.

“No one on either side of the aisle wanted to see the Fast and Furious investigation escalate to this point. But due to the Attorney General’s obstinate refusal to cooperate with Congressional investigators and honor lawful subpoenas, members had no choice but to forcefully demand openness and transparency on behalf of the American people by voting to affirm today’s contempt resolutions. Disappointed as I am, I find today’s actions more than justified and hope they will be instrumental in delivering the answers victims of this operation seek.”

The House affirmed two separate resolutions finding the Attorney General in contempt – one criminal and one civil. The criminal resolution passed by a vote of 255-67. The civil resolution passed by a vote of 258-95. The criminal contempt resolution will be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia for enforcement. The civil contempt resolution will allow the House to take the Attorney General to court in an effort to compel him to turn over the lawfully subpoenaed documents.

Members of Congress led by Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) have been investigating Fast and Furious since the early months of 2011. Subpoenas issued to the Department of Justice for documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious have not been honored as fewer than 8,000 of the more than 100,000 pages requested have been furnished to Congressional investigators.

Fast and Furious is the failed operation run by the Department of Justice’s Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms division that authorized the sale and trafficking of illegal weapons in the United States and across the Mexican border. Guns sold through Fast and Furious were found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder in December of 2010.

For additional information on the Fast and Furious Investigation and the President’s decision to assert deliberative executive privilege over the documents subpoenaed by Congress, visit www.FastandFurious Investigation.com. 

# # #