The Justice Department’s number two official said in a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) that they regretted he rejected their “extraordinary proposal” to settle a disagreement over documents related to the botched ATF operation known as Fast and Furious. Members of Issa’s House Oversight Committee will vote Wednesday morning on a resolution finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
“Today, we offered the Committee documents to answer the question it posed, as well as a briefing, information that would provide greater insight into the documents not being provided, and the ability to ask follow-up questions about these issues,” Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote to Issa. “We regret that the Committee rejected our proposal. Our offer would have provided the Committee with unprecedented access to these documents, many of which are not covered by the Committee’s subpoenas in this matter.”
“We had hoped that you shared our interest in bringing this matter to an amicable resolution and we regret that you rejected our extraordinary proposal to do so,” Cole wrote.
The full letter is embedded below.
