Rep. Darrell Issa’s announcement on Monday that the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on a resolution finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt wasn’t exactly a huge surprise, but it did manage to get conservatives fired up about possibly embarrassing one of their least favorite members of the Obama administration.
Issa said Monday he scheduled the hearing because DOJ hasn’t fully cooperated with a subpoena related to his committee’s investigation of the botched ATF operation known as Fast and Furious. As part of the operation, ATF agents allegedly instructed gun dealers to sell weapons to individuals they suspected were so-called straw purchasers for Mexican drug cartels, and two of the weapons connected to the investigation were found at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder.
The Justice Department called Issa’s scheduling of the hearing “premature” and accused Issa of distorting facts, ignoring testimony and making inappropriate accusations against Holder.
As TPM reported last month, the impact of the proceedings will be almost entirely political. Even if the House passed the contempt resolution, they would have to sue Holder in federal court and the issue would not be resolved for years.
TPM’s Michael Lester put together this highlight reel of Fox News coverage of the scheduled contempt hearing against Holder, who noted during his hearing last week that he “is seen by some as pretty controversial.”
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