The House Oversight Committee’s vote on a resolution finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress may not happen on Wednesday after all.
In a letter to Holder late last week, Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) says that he is willing to postpone the contempt vote if the Justice Department turns over documents related to the how the Justice Department responded to congressional inquires about the botched ATF operation known as Fast and Furious.
“While I do have substaintial concerns that these documents may not be sufficient to allow the Committee to complete its investigation, delivery of these documents to the Committee before the scheduled consideration of contempt at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 20, 2012, would be sufficient to justify the postponement of the proceeding to allow for the review of materials,” Issa wrote.
DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the fact that Issa was open to delaying the largely political contempt proceeding was a positive sign.
“It is in the best interest of all parties to bring this matter to a final resolution by avoiding a confrontation that involves contempt and we believe that the provision of documents must be part of an agreement that brings this matter to a close,” she said. “We trust that Chairman Issa shares our interest in doing so and will work with us in a productive and good faith manner to achieve that end.”
