Politics

Eric Holder Buckles Under Threat of Contempt Charges, Agrees to Provide More ‘Fast and Furious’ Documents

Eric Holder Agrees to Provide Internal Emails on Fast and Furious

Attorney General Eric Holder. (File photo)

For the first time in recent memory, Attorney General Eric Holder seems to be genuinely eager to meet with Republican lawmakers to discuss the ongoing investigation into operation Fast and Furious and has offered to meet with GOP investigators to make an “extraordinary accommodation.”

For that, Holder may deserve some credit – even if it took the threat of contempt charges to earn his cooperation.

In a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Holder said he would turn over briefings and documents – based on internal U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) communications – to congressional investigators that had previously been withheld.

(Related: Read Darrell Issa’s Ultimatum to Eric Holder)

Further, Holder wants to meet with Issa on Monday to make sure the two sides can find common ground, but more importantly the attorney general wants to make sure the contempt charges are taken off the table.

The letter was in response to one sent by Issa to Holder on Wednesday.

From Holder’s letter to Issa:

The Department is prepared to offer an extraordinary accommodation of the Committee’s interest in those issues by providing a briefing, based on documents that the Committee could retain, explaining how the Department’s understanding of the facts of Fast and Furious evolved during the post-February 4 period.

We believe this briefing… will fully address the remaining concerns identified in the recent letters to me from you and House leadership.

The Department’s willingness to provide these materials is a serious, good faith effort to bring this matter to an amicable resolution.

However, because as the Chairman only you have the authority to bind the committee, I continue to believe that a meeting is required both to assure that there are no misunderstandings about this matter and to confirm that the elements of the proposal we are making will be deemed sufficient to render the process of contempt unnecessary. I seek your direct engagement for precisely that reason, and I propose that the meeting occur by Monday, June 18, 2012.

The House had scheduled a vote for next week on whether to charge Holder with contempt, hence the attorney general’s eagerness.

In the letter, Holder maintains that senior DOJ officials were not aware of the “inappropriate tactics” of Fast and Furious until the scandal was made public. Read the whole letter here.

Politico has more on the response from Republicans:

Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee this week that the contempt vote was a looming “constitutional crisis” between the executive and legislative branches of government and needs to be resolved quickly.

Aides to Issa, though, were unwilling to say whether Holder’s offer was enough to postpone Wednesday’s contempt vote until they have time to go through the materials provided by DOJ.

“We’ll look at those documents and the committee’s response to the Department of Justice will be based on [what we find] after reviewing the documents the Department of Justice’s chooses to have there,” said a committee source.

This source noted that Holder and the Justice Department have now “altered their opposition” to turning over the internal deliberative documents. “Hopefully, he’ll be willing and will continue to waive that objection that he has articulated on other concerns about Operation Fast and Furious, including items related to the treatment of whistleblowers,” the source said.

Fast and Furious, a failed federal gun-walking operation, has been under investigation by Republicans for more than a year. The operation was launched in Arizona in late 2009 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Attorney’s office located there. For reasons that are still fuzzy, the guns were lost and eventually started turning up at crime scenes in Mexico, including at the murder scene of U.S. Border agent Brian Terry in December, 2010.

(Related: See the Entire Fast and Furious Scandal…In 62 Seconds)

Despite conflicting testimony and various evidence that senior DOJ officials were aware of the operation, Holder and his department continue to deny any involvement.

Comments (131)

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  • REPUB1
    Posted on June 15, 2012 at 12:15am

    “ Holder wants to meet with Issa on Monday to make sure the two sides can find common ground”

    YES 5yrs for Contempt and 10yrs for Man1 hows that????

    Report Post »  
    • gsplgtr
      Posted on June 15, 2012 at 8:55am

      and an apology to the border agents family!

      Report Post »  
    • hotteamakers
      Posted on June 15, 2012 at 11:04am

      The GOP has surrendered and merged with the Democrat Communists.

      If the GOP was serious which they are not, they would have voted today and left for the weekend. Don’t you see that there is a deal between both and that this explains why both parties are attacking the TEA.

      Report Post »  
    • Bill Rowland
      Posted on June 16, 2012 at 7:14am

      Issa, I hope, is smart enough to know that Epic Holdup is playing games. Cite him for contempt and have him arrested, booked, and some good pictures of a perp walk.
      Remember you can’t fix stupid but you can vote em out. Maybe congress will get a set of Cajones and cite Sweet Old Barack for his amnesty declaration.

      OMG Nov 6, 2012

      Report Post »  
  • WISEPENNY
    Posted on June 15, 2012 at 12:10am

    I feel sorry for Holder. He’s damned if he sandbags yet once more, but he cannot tell the truth since that trail obviously leads right to the very top. If it didn’t he would have already been thrown under the bus a long time ago. He probably knows enough to sink the whole crooked bunch of Democrats from Leahy,Shumer, Bloomenthal, Franken. Feinstein is the only one that don’t act like a sheep killing dog at those inquiries, but she stops short of jumping on an actual pursuit of the real truth. It‘s too bad Issa isn’t chairing that comittee so he could slap Leahy upside his head when he starts his dog and pony show on every subject EXCEPT fast and furious. He is one more reason for TERM LIMITS !!!!!!

    Report Post »  
  • broker0101
    Posted on June 15, 2012 at 12:10am

    If any if you Suckers really believe that Mr. Holder actually agreed to release anything not vetted by the regime, you should feel very fulfilled by this Congressional Inquiry.

    Report Post » broker0101  
  • CatB
    Posted on June 15, 2012 at 12:06am

    No problem .. as long as abortion legal .. they won’t get “punished with a baby”.

    http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/obamas_punished_with_a_baby_comment_sparks_protests/

    Report Post »  
  • Chancellor
    Posted on June 15, 2012 at 12:01am

    So Holder is either going to show them a complete fabrication paper work and all or…….

    Holder sees the writing on the wall and is trying to get a deal before the rest of the crooks……

    Which will probably get him deep sixed in some “Horrible accident” or “Suicide”

    Report Post » Chancellor  
  • dontbotherme
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:48pm

    Eris Holder is not going to buckle. He is a liar. He should be held in Contempt of Congress & prosecuted. I’ll believe it when I see it.

    Report Post »  
  • wntsmallgov
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:44pm

    Well someone must have explained the law to him about refusing a court order.

    Report Post » wntsmallgov  
  • Alucard
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:40pm

    This guy makes me sick. He always seems to think he is the most cooperative AG in the history of the world. He has “Superior Knowledge” on this stuff yet if you listen to him explain when he knew about FnF or if he has talked to any of the top brass in the Exec branch about this he seems like he has no knowledge at all. His answers on the issue to this point would be laughable if we weren’t talking about a government program that cost the life of border patrol agent and countless others.

    Report Post »  
  • rsanchez1
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:39pm

    You see Republicans? You see what happens when you grow a pair?

    Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:45pm

      I’ll believe Holder .. when they have them ALL in their hands .. as for a pair .. let‘s hope if he doesn’t they continue with the contempt charges. NO way should they be “taken off the table” until they have EVERYTHING requested.

      Report Post »  
  • Red-Long-Braid
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:36pm

    Let’s vote these people out of power please!!!
    Please pass this on so we can register as many people we can for November.
    I thought having Glenn’s voter lookup website in an App format will work better for the younger generations, especially the ones going to college. Please pass this Free App to them if you can.
    http://www.appsgeyser.com/192422
    Thank you,
    God help the Republic

    Report Post » Red-Long-Braid  
  • MAMMY_NUNN
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:31pm

    Could attempted bribery or coercion be the next charge ?

    Report Post »  
  • denkat56
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:31pm

    you know the white stuff in chicken poop, is still poop. erik holder is a chicken sh##.

    Report Post »  
  • nighttrainno9
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:28pm

    He stalled just long enough for the DOJ to falsify everything
    they will give to Issa. It’s all B.S., holder couldn’t tell the truth
    if he had to. He’s told so many lies he no longer knows what
    the truth is. I say, go with the original plan, hang him.

    Report Post »  
  • Psychosis
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:24pm

    say yes, have the meeting , get the papers, then hold him in contempt anyway

    its time to pull your own football away from lucy

    Report Post » Psychosis  
  • Salamander
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:24pm

    Buckles??? You mean “feints to the right”, don’t you??? The criminal-in-chief doesn‘t ’buckle’, he ‘feints’ or pulls the ‘Rope-a-dope’!

    Report Post »  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:20pm

    What the headline says and what understand (from what I’ve read and heard today) seems diametrically opposed.

    Report Post » The-Monk  
  • Doni609
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:19pm

    Oh spare me; Holder is a travesty as head of ‘InJustice’! Just what would make anyone think that he has seen the light and will now comply with anything that congress or the American people want. He’s made a laughing stock out of our judical system and our law makers and the people of this country. He is accountable to no one and the Justice Dept. is in shambles. Now the Blaze thinks that this buffoon is going to ‘buckle’……LOL, why the hell would he buckle?? Oh, Issa of course……you must be insane. Issa coundn’t intimidate his momma nor could any of those wimpy RINO congressmen. Hold this dork in contempt and wrap him in all the other questionable things that Justice has done since he took office. Stuff that prod up his butt till he either tells the truth or craps himself to death.

    Report Post »  
  • SHOWMESTATEGUY
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:17pm

    Eric Holder would make a good Iranian leader. Or North Korean leader, or Syrian leader, or any other country that does not believe in the rule of law.

    Report Post »  
  • RoboZiggy
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:17pm

    Congressional GOP dudes.
    You are about to get “Lucy’ed” as in the Peanuts comic strip.
    Lucy kept pulling back the football on Charlie Brown for 3 decades, yet ol’ Charlie kept falling for it.
    Holder is about to do it to you, and you will fall for it, AGAIN!
    Holder is in this up to his neck, do you REALLY think he will hand over proof of that, or Obama’s part in this, NOW?
    Stupid Republicans. Pathetic.

    Report Post »  
  • Ghengas
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:17pm

    Weasel

    Report Post »  
  • RLTW
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:15pm

    So Holder wants to tell a fairytale and make all the bad things go away. Go back it’s a trap!

    Report Post »  
    • Welcome Black Carter
      Posted on June 15, 2012 at 11:18am

      Holder knows Obummers days are numbered. He’s going to ride the wave of dishonesty ’till he cleans out his desk. I bet he steals the stapler too.

      Report Post » Welcome Black Carter  
  • wakeus_com
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:13pm

    He’s buckling, but the Republican cowards better not cave in to his demands. They need to go for the throat with this murdering psychopath.

    Report Post » wakeus_com  
    • SHOWMESTATEGUY
      Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:29pm

      The rino’s will let him off. Take that to the bank while you withdrawal your savings and put them under your mattress. America in 5 years = Greece today. Five years is a leap, but I don’t want to scare anyone.

      Report Post »  
  • biffo
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:10pm

    He is already in contempt! He’s like the crackhead asking for one more chance after stealing your wallet for the 10th time. Send him to jail. You rino idiots are being played! Stay on his ass, don’t let up. He has been punkin’ you from the begining. He is a liar. Hold the GD hearings!!

    Report Post »  
    • AJAYW
      Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:20pm

      If they don’t everyone of them should be voted out of office.

      Report Post »  
  • lel2007
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:09pm

    A stalling tactic, not submission. Iran’s Ackmadididajob uses the same tactics, as does the little twerp in North Korea.

    Report Post » lel2007  
  • Midwest Blonde
    Posted on June 14, 2012 at 11:08pm

    Doesn’t surprise me one bit – Holder is a weasel!!

    Report Post » Midwest Blonde  
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