Leadership Conference runs interference for Holder on F&F
Dave Workman Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
examiner.com
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) is trying to derail an effort to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress over his lack of cooperation in the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.
It's the latest chapter in a drawn-out melodrama that continues to hold the attention of Northwest gun right activists at WaGuns, Seattle Guns and Gun Rights Media.
In a two-page letter to House Speaker John Boehner, who has also seemed somewhat reluctant to push the Fast and Furious investigation, LCCHR alleged that “the tenor and approach you are reportedly taking does a disservice to Congress, the Attorney General’s office, and the public, and may also be a partisan attempt to discredit the Attorney General.” The LCCHR letter may be read here.
The news comes as another member of Congress, California Rep. Tom McClintock (R-4th District) has joined scores of his colleagues in signing a “no confidence” resolution regarding Holder, according to The Daily Caller.
In its letter to Boehner, the LCCHR also insisted that Holder has cooperated with the investigation by Congressman Darrell Issa and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, providing some 7,000 pages of documents and allowing several subordinates to testify.
However, Issa, and Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) – the man who initially launched Capitol Hill’s investigation of Fast and Furious nearly 18 months ago – have repeatedly claimed the Justice Department is sitting on tens of thousands of other requested documents. Those documents, sources have speculated, might reveal just how high the scandal, and its alleged cover-up, extend in the Obama administration. Yesterday marked one month since Issa submitted a memorandum to members of his committee that included a draft contempt citation, reported by this column.
The LCCHR letter has a defensive tone:
“To put it simply, the attempt to cite General Holder for contempt seems to be a rush to judgment intended to create a stain on the office of the Attorney General. It is contributing to an environment of accusatory vitriol and malignant suspicion that is both unwarranted and a significant distraction at a time when the Attorney General needs to focus on the nation’s core problems. The harshness of the attacks themselves is misplaced, and to the extent these attacks are intended to divert the Attorney General from the vigorous enforcement of the nation's laws—including those protecting civil rights, voting rights, disability rights, and other core concerns—we are deeply troubled. We are concerned that the contempt threat is intended to create a hostile environment aimed at pressuring the Attorney General to resign. This development is particularly disturbing because of the exemplary job the Attorney General has done in enforcing the nation’s civil rights laws.”—LCCHR letter to House Speaker John Boehner
This excerpt’s not-so-subtle suggestion that those pressing Holder are interfering with the advancement of civil rights seems deliberately crafted to paint House Republicans into an anti-civil rights corner.
No date has been set for the House Oversight Committee to hold a vote on the proposed contempt citation. A call from Examiner to a committee spokesman was not immediately returned.
The LCCHR letter was copied to Issa, Congressman Eric Cantor, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee.
Recent days have seen speculation that Boehner and Republican House leaders are willing to let the Fast and Furious investigation die. Mike Vanderboegh, who broke the story about Fast and Furious with National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea 18 months ago, has adopted a “wait-and-see” attitude, at least for the moment.
June 1 marked the 17th month since this column began digging into the Fast and Furious scandal.
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