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04.08.2014 0

Rep. Louie Gohmert challenges Eric Holder’s contempt nonchalance

Eric_HolderBy Rick Manning & Tom Toth

Attorney General Eric Holder doesn’t like being challenged to produce documents surrounding his Justice Department’s involvement in the Fast and Furious scandal.  In fact, he became incensed when Representative Louis Gohmert had the temerity to push him regarding his Contempt of Congress citation, earned due to his stonewalling lawmaker requests for documents about their infamous Fast and Furious gun running scheme.

The document requests and subsequent investigations were too late for a U.S. Border Patrol agent and still-unknown hundreds of Mexican nationals who were murdered by drug cartels carrying high-powered firearms provided by Holder’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Upon a congressional investigation, Attorney General Eric Holder’s DOJ was resolutely non-compliant with document requests, and it is this insolence that resulted in Holder being held in Contempt of Congress. Since then, Holder’s Justice Department is still yet to provide requested documentation about Operation Fast and Furious to Congress.

In a recent House hearing, Texas Representative Louie Gohmert pushed Eric Holder on the DOJ’s failure to divulge documents about the Holy Land Foundation terror funding trial. After a dismissive response to Rep. Gohmert’s questions about the documentation, Gohmert—intent on holding Holder accountable to this issue—referenced the Operation Fast and Furious investigation, arguing “I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight.”

Apparently, that’s all it takes to engage Eric Holder’s attention:

“You don’t want to go there, buddy! You don’t want to go there, okay,” Holder, leaning back and visibly agitated, shot back at Gohmert, continuing “You should not assume that that is not a big deal to me. I think that it was inappropriate, I think it was unjust. But never think that that was not a big deal to me. Don’t ever think that,” Holder stated, pointing at Gohmert.

Gohmert calmly added in response that he saw no evidence of Holder’s concern for his contempt charges, given his lack of concern for Congressional attempts of oversight within his department.

The American people need to thank Representative Louis Gohmert for not shirking his duty and forgetting those who were killed due to Justice Department agent’s supplying high powered firearms to the Mexican Sinaloa Drug Cartel.  Gohmert’s holding Eric Holder and the DOJ accountable is exactly what the American people are demanding of Congress.

Perhaps Holder should care more about helping Congress get to the bottom of his Department’s deadly decisions to make sure no more families are shattered by failed operations like Fast and Furious, and less about what people think about his feelings on being held in contempt.

Watch the full video here:

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