Romney Calls for Resignation: Holder 'Brought Shame' to Justice Department

(The Blaze/AP) Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is calling on President Barack Obama's attorney general to resign because of the flawed law enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling major arms trafficking networks on the Southwest border.

Romney tells reporters after a rally in New Hampshire that Eric Holder has misled Congress and has "brought shame" on the Justice Department through his handling of Operation Fast and Furious.

Operation Fast and Furious involved more than 2,000 weapons purchased by straw buyers at Phoenix-area gun stores. Nearly 700 of those guns have been recovered — 276 in Mexico and 389 in the United States, according to ATF data as of Oct. 20.

Controversy erupted over the intitiative after two assault rifles turned up at an Arizona shootout where border agent Brian Terry was killed.

“Either Mr. Holder himself should resign, or the president should ask for his resignation or remove him,” Romney said in an interview on Fox News. “It’s unacceptable for him to continue in that position given the fact that he has misled Congress and entirely botched the investigation of the Fast and Furious program.”

While many Republican's have called for Holder's resignation in regards to Operation Fast and Furious, one of the attorney general's chief congressional critics, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, said Friday that the operation's failures were "not about any one person."

Romney currently leads the pack of GOP presidential candidates in New Hampshire, polling at 36.2 percent, ahead of the next closest challenger Newt Gingrich at 19.6.