U.S. House of Representatives Debate Contempt Charge Against Holder

WILL JUSTICE PREVAIL?

by Sharon Rondeau

(Jun. 28, 2012) — At 12:30 p.m. EDT, the U.S. House of Representatives began debate on whether or not to suspend the rules and proceed to a vote on whether or not Eric Holder should be held in contempt of Congress.

The first speaker, Rep. Nugent of Florida, recommended that Holder be charged with both “civil and criminal” citations for his refusal to turn over documents related to the gunwalking program, Fast & Furious.

Nugent yielded the remainder of his time to Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, who said that the House had no business judging Holder.  He said that holding anyone in contempt should be initiated only if information is “accurate.”  He said that “jobs, economy, and health care” are more important to the American people.  “Under this Republican majority, everything has to be fight…” he said. “It is just wrong…By moving forward today on this resolution, we diminish the House of Representatives.”

Rep. Nugent regained the floor with the remaining time he had ceded to McGovern and said that Holder did not “reach out and do the right thing” when he turned over 7,600 pages of information because it was not enough.

Rep. Tim Scott of South Carolina decried his “friends on the left” but said that today was “about justice.” “Mr. Speaker, we want a ‘yes,'” he said.  Scott said that Holder and Obama “refused” to reveal information for the Terry family to obtain answers.  “Mr. Speaker, there are over 100,000 pages that we have requested…we were given false information…it is our responsibility to find the truth,” he said.  He expressed concern for the safety of border agents if guns cannot be traced.

McGovern then stood up again and said that the last time a contempt vote against an executive department official, more time was taken before “rushing” to a vote.  “Don’t tell me this is not about politics, that this is not a witch hunt…” he said.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina then spoke, defending the executive branch and Holder specifically.  “This is an election-year witch hunt,” he said.  “It’s politics!” he said.  “If you want to discredit and defeat this president, you need to…go out and give it your best shot.”  He then urged his colleagues to walk out and speak publicly elsewhere.  The chairman reminded him to “address remarks to the chair.”

Rep. Nugent spoke again briefly and yielded to Rep. Darrell Issa, who read a resolution to introduce a statement from the Terry family.

Rep. Dennis Ross was next and spoke about “Operation Wide Receiver” and the differences between it and Fast and Furious, one being that no one died in Wide Receiver.  He cited Holder’s refusal to comply with the two subpoenas from last October and that “people in the real world” must comply with subpoenas.

McGovern spoke again and said, “This is about politics.”

Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont said that the original subpoena demanded that the Attorney General “turn over documents that would have been illegal to turn over…Let the investigation continue.”

Rep. Ted Poe of Texas was next and spoke about the deaths from Operation Fast & Furious.  “What are they hiding?” he asked in regard to the executive branch.  He called Fast & Furious a “stealth operation” and asked why it was allowed.

A Texas representative affirmed that in his state, they believe that guns should widely be available to citizens.

Rep. Nugent yielded the floor to Rep. Sandy Adams of Florida, who questioned why Holder will not tell the House who began Fast & Furious.  She said that Holder “admitted that it was flawed from the beginning.”  She said the matter is “not political; it’s personal” and accused Holder of failing to take responsibility for the botched operation.  She questioned Obama’s invocation of executive privilege when matters reached a peak last week.

Rep. McGovern spoke again and said that the attorney general under Bush should have been called to testify about the former gunwalking program.  Rep. Adams asked if he would yield and he said, “I will not…this is about politics, plain and simple…”

Rep. Eleanor Norton Holmes then spoke and said that the NRA “joined in to blow-torch” the contempt discussions, which amounted to a “political mandate.”  She said that law enforcement must have the tools it needs to investigate how Agent Brian Terry was killed.  She contended that the House Oversight Committee had refused to hear pertinent information.  She claimed that Holder had put a stop to gunwalking which occurred “in the Bush administration.”

Rep. Nugent stood up again and then yielded to Rep. Ben Quayle of Arizona, who stated that “today’s vote is long overdue.”  He said that Holder had told him directly that “there was nothing whatsoever in the wiretap applications” which supported a gunrunning program.  He called Holder’s statement “a boldfaced lie.”  “Dishonesty on the part of the administration officials will never be tolerated…” and claimed that Holder and Obama are guilty of “executive overreach.”

McGovern spoke again briefly.

Rep. Rob Andrews then spoke and said that the House Oversight Committee “refused” to hear testimony from the head of the ATF and the Assistant Attorney General.  He mentioned the three branches of government and “there has never been a vote like this one before” in the history of the country.  “This procedure vandalizes the Constitution,” he said.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah then spoke and said that the director of the ATF appointed by Obama was deposed.  He said that other “key people” refused to speak with the Committee.

McGovern then rose again and contradicted Chaffetz.  “The reality was that a year ago, Republican staff met with the head of the ATF…there were no public hearings,” he said.  He said it was “outright false” that the investigation was a “bipartisan effort.”

Rep. Donna Edwards of Maryland said that the contempt vote was a “disgrace to this House” because it accuses Holder and Obama of a “cover-up.”  Reflecting discussion by the House Oversight Committee last week, she said that “the goalposts were moved” in regard to what would be asked of Holder.  She called the vote of contempt “a constitutional confrontation.”  She said they were engaged in “nonsense.”

McGovern yielded two minutes to Rep. Peter Schiff of California, who said he is opposed to the contempt resolution.  “This has now become a fight over documents,” he said.  “The goal here is simply the fight…The fight is the goal.”  He stated that they should be working on legislation to create jobs rather than involved in a “partisan brawl.”

Nugent then yielded to Chaffetz for two minutes.  Chaffetz said that the issue is “about transparency” and quoted Obama saying that “transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstone of my presidency.”  He quoted Obama as having said that disclosure and openness were important when he first took office.  Chaffetz said they “have a duty and obligation to pursue” the investigation to the fullest extent.  He then read a statement from a Border Patrol union with 17,000 members calling for Holder’s resignation.

Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia said that certain documents cannot be turned over by the Justice Department and that “you have to trust” why they could not be.  He said that shortly after Obama took office, Sen. Mitch McConnell had stated that it was the Republicans’ goal to make Obama “a one-term president.”  He stated that today was “the first time any cabinet member has been found in contempt of court,” even though the vote had not been taken yet.

Rep. James Lankford, a member of the House Oversight Committee, then spoke, and that the Justice Department has delayed releasing information and that it knew about the gunrunning operation.  “There’s all this obfuscation to say it’s Bush’s fault…” he said, and then mentioned the February 4, 2011 letter which contained false statements admitted to by Holder.  “‘Fast & Furious'” has moved slow and tedious,” he said.

Rep. Chaka Fattah of Pennsylvania then said that Holder cannot provide the requested documents because “the president” has invoked executive privilege.”

Rep. Jackie Speier took the floor and said that executive privilege has been asserted before by Republican presidents.

McGovern said that the contempt discussion was a “political maneuver” and told the Republicans, “Don’t go down this road.”

Rep. Nugent then said that the discussion was about “what this government has done to block the truth…It’s about calling on the attorney general to follow the Constitution…I hear something about ‘witch hunt’ and it makes me sick…” he said.  “It’s about holding people accountable.”  He said that “the attorney general feels that he’s above the law when it comes to the subpoena.”  He asked “Mr. Speaker” to “do the right thing,” something the Obama regime often says.  Nugent said that executive-branch decisions should not put Americans at risk.  He added that Mexico “wants to indict” the Americans who are responsible for deaths in their country as a result of Fast & Furious.  “Congress has a constitutional responsibility…to have oversight over the executive branch.  The subpoena is a tool to allow us to do that, and this attorney general feels he doesn’t have to comply,” he said.  He discussed when he was a sheriff and took the oath of office, it was to “support and defend the Constitution,” as did Brian Terry.  He said that the Democrats were not interested in “facts.”  He accused the ATF and “the attorney general’s office” of allowing the guns to walk which killed Terry and numerous Mexicans.

The clerk then asked for voice votes and said “the ayes have it,” then McGovern asked for a vote.  “This is a fifteen-minute vote,” the clerk said, and then a break ensued.

A C-Span anchor’s voice then said that a boycott of the vote was expected on the part of black, Hispanic, and other minority members of the House.

C-Span then showed Mitt Romney making a statement about the health care bill.  He stated that he agreed with the dissent and that “Obamacare was bad policy yesterday, and it is bad policy today” because it raises taxes sharply and cuts Medicare.  “Obamacare adds trillions to our deficit,” he said.  “Obamacare is a job-killer.”  He indicated that the health care bill should be repealed.  He then outlined his own ideas for making health care affordable and lowering the cost of health care and health insurance, which is “becoming prohibitively expensive.”  He said that Americans have the choice between a larger, more intrusive government or to “return to a time” when consumers can make their own choices.  He said a “bright economic future” entails replacing Obamacare and invoked “the Founders.”

C-Span said that the House of Representatives has scheduled July 11 for a vote to repeal Obamacare.  A five-minute statement by Obama was then aired.

At 2:05 p.m. EDT, the contempt vote is 232 yea, 162 nay, and 39 not having voted yet.

At 2:06 p.m., voting is over and the contempt motion appears to have passed with votes tallied and announced at 2:07 at 253-173-8.  The chairman then called for votes on other matters.