Posted on 06/28/2012 1:57:36 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
In 255-67 vote, House places Holder in contempt of Congress By Jordy Yager and Pete Kasperowicz - 06/28/12 04:37 PM ET
The House voted Thursday to place Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for not complying with a congressional subpoena.
Seventeen Democrats bucked party lines and voted with Republicans to pass a criminal contempt resolution in a 255-67 vote. House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) pushed that resolution as part of his 16-month investigation into a botched Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation.
Only two Republicans voted no on the measure, while 65 Democrats recorded "no" votes and 108 Democrats didn't cast votes. Most of them were protesting the fact that the House GOP was holding the vote.
The two Republican "no" votes were Reps. Steve LaTourette (Ohio) and Scott Rigell (Va.). Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) was the only "present" vote from either party.
The Department of Justice is not expected to enforce the criminal contempt measure against Holder. But before the end of the day, the House was also expected to pass a separate resolution allowing the GOP House to pursue civil court action against Holder.
That second resolution could lead to a lengthy court battle if Issa pursues civil action against Holder.
While 17 Democrats sided with Republicans in the contempt vote, it was met with outrage from Democrats. The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) joined by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and many other Democrats staged a walkout during the vote as Democrats charged the GOP with staging a witch hunt against Holder that demeans the lower chamber.
Pelosi said during the debate that she would join the walkout, and told Democrats it's up to them whether to stay and vote against the resolution, or leave.
"So now I say to those who have a doubt about how they want to proceed, that instead of doing what I said before — which was just to come and to treat this as a bill before the Congress and express my no — listening to the unconscionable presentation, I want to join my CBC colleagues in boycotting the vote when we have the walkout after we have the debate," she said.
Several other Democrats also charged Republicans with making political hay against the Obama administration to help them in the November elections.
"When the history of this despicable proceeding is recorded, it will be said that your actions were politically motivated to discredit and defeat a president who has worked so hard over the past three years," Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) declared on the House floor during rule debate.
But Republicans decried Holder's refusal to hand over documents relating to the Justice Department's reaction to Operation Fast and Furious as nothing less than a "cover-up" and pointed to President Obama's assertion of executive privilege over the material as evidence of the administration's lack of transparency.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made a rare appearance on the floor to call for support for the resolution.
"I don't take this matter lightly, and I frankly hoped it would never come to this," Boehner said about an hour before voting started.
"But no Justice Department is above the law, and no Justice Department is above the Constitution, which each of us has sworn an oath to uphold," he said. "So I ask the members of this body to come together and to support this resolution."
Before the final vote, the House rejected a motion from Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to recommit the resolution to Issa's committee. That motion failed 172-251, after which dozens of Democrats left the chamber.
As chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Issa has led Congress's investigation of Fast and Furious, which oversaw the sale of nearly 2,000 firearms to straw buyers for Mexican drug cartels.
Issa was initially concerned with uncovering who was responsible for allowing guns to "walk" during the operation. But he recently switched the primary concentration of his probe to focus on the DOJ's internal communications after the details of the operation were made public.
At the center of the feud between the DOJ and Issa is a letter the department sent last year to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) stating that it does everything in its power to stop guns from going to Mexico. Ten months later, the DOJ took the rare step of withdrawing the letter because it contained false information.
Nearly two months before the DOJ rescinded the letter, Issa subpoenaed Holder for documents related to the fallout that the letter's misinformation had caused.
But after turning over about 7,600 pages of documents to Issa on Fast and Furious, the Attorney General has refused to comply with the remainder of the subpoena, stating that much of the requested information would jeopardize ongoing prosecutions and criminal cases if it were made public.
After attempts at negotiating a compromise failed last week, the president — at Holder's urging — asserted executive privilege over the documents in question.
The DOJ's inspector general has been investigating the failed operation for more than a year as well. And Issa says he should have access to the roughly 80,000 documents that the IG has received from the DOJ.
You think it’s only been one? Try Kelo, Arizona immigration, Atkins, etc.
This means nothing.
Nothing more will come of this.
No one has the guts to do anything further than this.
Bullshit. Nothing was botched ... It went exactly according to plan!
You do know it’s Obama who ordered it, don’t you?
What the hell does it matter?
Holder isn’t going anywhere with his brother in the White Hut.
The illegal Kenyan now will get more support after these two awful rulings on illegal immigration and CommieCare.
There’s this, and there’s the decision by the Supreme Court today.
Talk about a “Half glass full/half glass empty” situation .....................
.....ultimately uninspiring story: As all of these events were unfolding today, I went for a smoke break .....I met a kindly woman at that time, I’ve met her before, she’s “nice enough”.
At that moment, she was greatly amused at what she saw on her cellphone. I was ignoring the gafaws and giggles for the most part, merely wishing to smoke my cigarette in peace after having heard of the SC decision. I could not BELIEVE any of my fellow citizens would stand for this outrageous calamity, well, I certainly found my answer today.
Apparently, she was incredibly entertained by some picture her daughter posted on Facebook. OH, you’ve seen the kind: With the face all distorted, in a strange “Pixar on acid” kind of way? Yes, well, she found this “technology” (and I do use the term loosely) so “fascinating” that it merited not only a string of (sadly) nearly inaudible chuckles, but phrases like, “It’s amazing what kids can do with cell phones these days”.
I found myself struck by the following: “THIS level of TRIPE, from a FELLOW CITIZEN, on a day where quite bluntly, our FUTURE is at stake!” And then it hit me...........
“We have zero chance”. After all, Romney hems and HAWS about “pledging to repeal Obamacare” when he INVENTED the monstrosity and we are to believe, he will “repeal it”? haha.........yeah ok.........
............everything died today. Really. This is what I was left with after my smoke break encounter with a co-worker who I barely know. But who shows me, in a microcosm my fellow Citizen’s disgusting level of apathy, if not ignorance.
< sigh > Sorry, just had to get that off my chest. I suppose this news, in this thread, IS good news today....a silver lining in another wise depressing day sorry for the vent
17 Democrats joined the Republicans - so all of these vicious smears the other Dems are engaging in are being painted on a considerable number of their own caucus members.
Here’s what happens to law abiding American Citizens (or should I say “Subjects”?) Rick and Terri Reese, along with their two sons Ryin and Remington, who tried to obstruct the flow of weapons to the Drug thugs (and their Muslim Jihaddi Comrades) against the Regime’s wishes:
The expression “made an example of” comes to mind.
A lot of libs have been roaring about “destroying” “killing” or otherwise wiping out the Tea Party lately... I guess they mean to get serious about it in a tactical kind of way.
I wonder how many more “Teapers”, Veterans, Ron Paulians, Constitutionalists, Militia members, Family Farmers, Preppers and other potential dissenters are going to get SWATTED or just “disappear” from amongst us in the coming months?
I wonder if anyone is going to be concerned with the “Carbon footprint” of the new industrial crematoriums?
How nice it must be to be able to have a “job” that you can walk out on, and still have it the next day.
The DOJ will never prosecute Holder. It will require a civil trial.
Thats just the way fascists like Holder work.Meanwhile Obama has invoked executive privilege, assuring that the murder documents of Fast and Furious, and the proof that Obama and Holder were arming a reconquista guerrilla movement designed to make war on the governments of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, will likely never see the light of day unless more stringent measures are taken against the Obama fascist movement.
We are just waiting for a Cesar or a Mussolini now.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You do not have to wait, he hoodwinked America, and was elected and sits in the White House. Obama is indeed categorically a fascist according to the various tests of history.
Good Read:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html
Issa should be doing just that next week. Articles of impeachment should be drawn in the house against both Holder and Obama ASAP.
That was corroborated by the Attorney General of the United States in sworn testimony in front of a Congressional hearing. The top Law Enforcement Officer of the Country lied under oath.
Maybe we should re-assess what false means...kinda like what is is.
That's how I see it and everyone of them should be held accountable for not doing their duty to vote. They are all racists.
Someone please explain to me why a person who is half black and half white gets a pass because of his half Negroid DNA? Why is Obama and Holder so endeared with their half black heritage and refuse to accept they are half white? Yes, I know, they get political racist mileage out of their half black. But really? If I were mixed racial, I would take pride in that fact.
Are they both so ashamed that they are half white? The whole black pride thing of one side of their ancestral race they promote while ignoring their white side is starting to disgust me. It should simply be about who they are. But no, they have black blood, so they are special. That's as racist as it gets.
“I believe the worst penalty that can incure is a year in jail and a $100,000 fine.”
I was wondering if a contempt citation might cost him his law license.
Is Holder half white/black or should I say black/white? I’ve never heard that before!
The headline should read, “In a 4-1 vote, House places Holder in contempt of Congress”
No, they are TRAITORS, some are knowingly trying to destroy the country and some are useful idiots. Until the hangings start, they will continue on destroying our country at will.
Obama is betting Americans are too stupid to figure out he is one of the ones guilty of treason.
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