The U.S. House voted today to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for not turning over enough documents about Justice Department deliberations over an investigation of a gun-running probe in Arizona. The vote was 255-67, with 109 not voting as an expression of contempt for the purely political act.
The core elements of the Republican complaint — administrative complicity in allowing guns to reach illegal hands — are no longer in question. If any problem existed, it was a lack of sufficient gun laws to justify prosecutions against people who buy guns in bulk to put in the hands of criminals.
This is about embarrassing the Obama administration and Eric Holder. The NRA, which cooked up a typically insane theory about the matter, has made this an election year test for politician.
The only thing I wondered about going in was whether gun lobby toady U.S. Rep. Mike Ross, the lame duck Democratic congressman from Arkansas, would kiss NRA butt again. Silly me to think he’d do anything but cover himself with more shame, along with 16 other Democrats. Ross statement:
“I believe the people of Arkansas and our nation deserve answers to questions regarding the unsuccessful “Operation Fast and Furious” gun-tracking program. I recognize that holding the Attorney General in contempt of Congress is a serious and significant action, but in this case, it is necessary because the failures resulted in the loss of the life of a U.S. Border Patrol Agent. That fact alone requires a full and transparent investigation, which is not possible if documents are withheld. I voted in favor of holding Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress as Congress must have the opportunity to review all related documents to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”