Rep. Darrell E. Issa is has distributed a draft of his resolution to the House charging Attorney General Eric Holder with contempt of Congress. Read the article here; This week in Guns & Patriots…
Neil W. McCabe, Editor
Dear Guns & Patriots reader, Over the weeks, we have presented to you many stories about one story: Fast & Furious, the notorious federal operation that facilitated the otherwise illegal flow of guns to Mexican criminal organizations. The heart of the program was the policy of watching the guns as they ”walked.” This is a common tactic in law enforcement for the purposes of learning how criminals operate. This tactic was tragically performed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as its agents routinely lost track of purchasers, transporters and thousands of guns. Fast & Furious was only shut down upon the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry, who was killed by an AK-47 waved through by the ATF. One story we have not told you that Congress is taking concrete action to hold people accountable—until now. Rep. Darrell E. Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform May 3 distributed his draft of a resolution, which charges Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., with contempt of Congress, to other members of the committee. The draft cites Holder’s serial obstruction of the committee’s attempts to find what really happened and who did what. Issa is circulating a 64-page white paper on his committee’s dealings with Holder and other members of the Obama administration. ”This briefing paper and draft contempt report explains the case, to both members of Congress and the American people, for holding Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress,” Issa said. ”In describing the Justice Department’s refusal to cooperate – including the hardships the family of fallen Border Patrol agent have faced in seeking the truth, and retaliation against agents who blew the whistle on gun walking – this briefing paper provides the facts, on which decisions will be made,” he said. Many in Congress have called for Holder’s resignation and for a Sense of Congress resolution that would record Congress’ lack of confidence in the nation’s top law enforcement officer. A strong movement to establish a special prosecutor was turned away because it would give Holder and the Obama administration an excuse to ignore Issa all together. What ends up happening is impossible to tell. There are serious questions as to whether the crime ”contempt of Congress” even exists. If approved, the Congress would direct a U.S. attorney to proceed with an indictment and then move forward to a trial. Thus, we would have the spectacle of a Justice Department subordinate prosecuting his boss at the direction of another branch of government. It is fair to say, while it’s serious and compelling to put Holder on notice and set in stone these events, we may still be dealing in symbols, with nobody going to jail. If you have not read Katie Pavlich’s excellent book ”Fast and Furious,” this would be a good time to order it. It is well-paced, fact-driven narrative that connects all the dots. This week we have some remarkable articles to share with you. Enjoy!

Neil W. McCabe Editor, Guns & Patriots