(Issa) Lawmaker circulates proposal to hold attorney general in contempt of Congress

Source: washington post

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) circulated a proposal Thursday to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt of Congress, accusing Holder of failing to cooperate with a congressional inquiry into the botched gun-trafficking operation called Fast and Furious.

Justice Department officials disputed the accusations, saying the department has been cooperating fully with the investigation, which was launched by Issa and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) a year and a half ago.

Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the Justice Department has provided about 7,000 pages of documents to Congress, while providing 80,000 pages to the department’s inspector general, who also is investigating the gun operation.

“For over a year the Department has issued false denials, given answers intended to misdirect investigators, sought to intimidate witnesses, unlawfully withheld subpoenaed documents, and waited to be confronted with indisputable evidence before acknowledging uncomfortable facts,” said Issa in a briefing paper and a 47-page draft contempt citation he sent to the members of the oversight committee.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/lawmaker-circulates-proposal-to-hold-attorney-general-in-contempt-of-congress/2012/05/03/gIQAeII7zT_story.html