Rev. Al Sharpton said Tuesday that the pursuit of a contempt resolution against Attorney General Eric Holder was motivated by his enforcement of civil rights laws, especially those related to the 2012 election.
“The only thing contemptible is that they are going to vote on a contempt citation on Thursday,” Sharpton said at a press conference at the National Press Club two days ahead of a scheduled House vote against Holder as part of the House investigation into the botched ATF operation known as Fast and Furious. Another speaker, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation president and CEO Melanie Campbell, called the contempt vote against Holder a “witch hunt.”
“If they can slow him down, it slows down the enforcement of civil rights law in this country,” Sharpton said. “We would take this position if he was white, if he was black or if he was polka-dot. For those that say that we are only interested in bringing up race because he’s black, no we bring up race because the issues he fought.”
