By a vote of 255-67 and 109 members not voting, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution declaring U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to be in contempt of Congress over his refusal to turn over documents related to the government's Mexican gun running sting Operation Fast and Furious. "Contempt of Congress" sounds bad, but is it?
Just to review, in Operation Fast and Furious we do know that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) purposely allowed over 2,000 supposedly traceable firearms to "walk" their way into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
We also know that no Mexican drug lords were arrested as a result of Operation Fast and Furious, and that at least one of the guns was used in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
What Congress wanted to know, and Holder refused to say, is who in the Obama administration knew what about Operation Fast and Furious and when they knew it.
So is it off to jail now for Attorney General Holder? Hardly. Under federal law, it is now up to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to decide whether or not criminal charges should be filed against Holder. And, oh by the way, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia works for none other than Attorney General Eric Holder.
Even should the heavens fall and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia actually decides to file criminal charges against his boss, and a grand jury issues an indictment, and a jury finds him guilty, the maximum criminal penalties that could be assessed against Attorney General Holder are 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Also See: About the U.S. Attorneys
Aside from criminal charges, Holder could also face civil lawsuits filed by House Republicans in an attempt to force him to turn over more documents related to Operation Fast and Furious.
Also See: Obama's Mexican Border Initiative
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Comments
Someone needs to give full disclosure about what happened here. It is unfair and needlessly hurtful to the families involved on both sides of the border. It gives the appearance of arrogance and deceit for the the Attorney General and the President to not just give the answers, clear the air, and allow the families to feel that the deaths on both sides of the border are of no consequence. That is the right thing to do and will also go a long way toward stopping the endless anger of the public and endless drivvel by the news media some of these irrelevant talking heads. Thank you
This administration, it Czars and “underlings’” give “Deceit”, “Lying”, and “Corruption” new meanings in terms of severity ! It will take quite a while to recover, and to air the White House out to get rid of the stench of Chicago-Style politics and “truthfulness” !!
ATF had information about certain guns that these agents had reason to believe were “unlawfully” purchased, i.e., bought as if for the purchaser’s personal use and given/resold/straw purchased on behalf of another (Mexican drug gang?). The fault lies with the Arizona law which says that people are free to purchase as many guns as they want if they are not on a criminal list; therefore, the way the gangs get around this is simply give the money to a person who’s not banned from purchasing guns. ATF agents found that some of the purchasers were on aid or otherwise low income and couldn’t be expected to afford a gun in that price range. What to do? Not much as the gun lobby (NRA) wants no interference with gun purchase by “law abiding citizens.” And these purchasers certified that the guns were for their own use. One beginning move to stem this tide would require credit checks on purchasers. What’s the likelihood that the NRA would have a fit about that?