The congressional contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder is looking more and more like a fait accompli, as House Speaker John Boehner presses ahead with a Thursday floor vote and conservative Democrats one-by-one announce they will side with Republicans.
At least four Democrats so far have said they plan to vote to hold Holder in contempt over his refusal to turn over Operation Fast and Furious documents. Sources told Fox News that roughly 20 are likely to break ranks.
Those Democrats are largely conservative-leaning lawmakers facing perilous political circumstances in their home districts. But regardless of motive, their support only increases the odds that the nation’s top law enforcement official will be held in contempt of Congress come Thursday.
Should this happen, the vote would touch off a whole new legal process — in which a U.S. attorney would be called upon to convene a grand jury to consider the allegations and whether to indict, though with Holder at the helm it’s unclear how that would play out.
The two sides also will likely continue to battle over the documents at the heart of the dispute as President Obama tries to lock them down by claiming executive privilege.
Several Democrats indicated Wednesday they don’t buy that argument.
“While Republicans and Democrats argue over the scope of the people’s right to know what happened, the attorney general has decided to withhold relevant documents,” Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., said in a statement announcing he would support the contempt resolution. “The only way to get to the bottom of what happened is for the Department of Justice to turn over the remaining documents, so that we can work together to ensure this tragedy never happens again.”
Other Democrats to announce an anti-Holder stance include Reps. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.; Collin Peterson, D-Minn.; and Jim Matheson, D-Utah.
Matheson said the public, Congress and the family of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry — whose murder scene included weapons from the botched anti-gunrunning operation — “deserve answers.”
The White House, though, slammed Republican leaders for pressing ahead, accusing them of engaging in “political gamesmanship” with a vote they claim could have been avoided.
“(Republicans) have shown very little interest in reaching a resolution. Instead, they’ve chosen a path of political confrontation and theater,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday. “It is politics.”
Carney said Democrats are “hopeful” a last-minute arrangement can be reached, but expressed doubt that would happen.
Boehner said Thursday that “we are going to proceed.” The House Rules Committee was set to tee up a Thursday floor vote on contempt by taking up two related contempt resolutions Wednesday afternoon.
The vote is proceeding despite a last-ditch attempt by Obama administration officials on Tuesday to work out a deal.
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2 Responses
Jim Matheson is facing a tough challenge from Mia Love, so Pelosi has given him a “heter” to cross the floor on this one, just as she gave him a heter to vote against 0bamacare in order not to lose his seat. Make no mistake, if the Dems needed his vote to defeat this motion, he would vote with them.
How about the American people hold congress in contempt for doing not do anything consturctive.
I am sure that whatever the contempt tey hold for the attorney general, doesn’t begin to compare to the contempt which the American people hold for congress.