House panel backs contempt for Holder, Issa says floor vote can still be avoided

[FoxNews.com]

Published June 20, 2012

NEXT STEP:  THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WILL VOTE FOR A RESOLUTION TO UPHOLD CONTEMPT CITATION; if upheld, CIVIL CRIMINAL PROCEDURES FOLLOW.

A House panel voted Wednesday in favor of holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, a move that inflamed partisan rancor on Capitol Hill and sets up the possibility of legal action against the attorney general himself.

Holder has not yet been formally held in contempt of Congress. The full House would still need to approve the resolution in order for that to happen — Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., afterward told Fox News that such a floor vote can still be avoided.

But the 23-17 party-line vote on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee marked a significant turn in lawmakers’ 16-month investigation into the botched anti-gunrunning operation Fast and Furious. With the vote, Republicans on the committee signaled they had exhausted all other means to extract sought-after documents from the Justice Department — though Democrats had insisted there was still an opportunity to sort out the mess without a contempt vote.

“We and the American people need answers sooner, not later,” said Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the committee.

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June 20, 2012 | Categories: 2012 Election, America's Freedoms, America's National Security, Congress, Congress: Inquiries & Committees, Constitution, Constitutional Responsibilities, Constitutional Rights, Corruption, Corruption in Government, Deficit, Due Process of Law, Education, Election 2012, Elections Politics, Electorate, Fiscal Responsibility, Foreign Policy, Freedom Justice and Liberty, Government, House of Representatives, International News, Liberals Big Spending and Taxes, Most Americans Reject Socialism, National Debt, New Media News, Notable Authors and Books, Political Incompetence, POTUS Deception, POTUS Elibility Issue, Progressives pushing for Marxism/Socialism, Scandals, State Voter Initiatives, United States Court System | Tags: Attorney General, Capitol Hill, Chairman Darrell Issa, Contempt of Congress Citation, current-events, documents withheld, Eric Holder, fast and furious, gunrunning operation, House Resolution pending, House to vote, Obama inculcates himself, Obama invokes executive privilege, politics, Rep. Elijah Cummings | Leave A Comment »