Attorney General Holder subpoenaed for documents in ATF Gunwalker Fast and Furious case

By: Sharyl Attkisson
Topics: Law and Order

Attorney General Eric Holder is seen at a press conference, October 11, 2011.

/ CBS News

Today, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee sent a wide-ranging documents subpoena to Attorney General Eric Holder. It asks for all communications regarding Fast and Furious or any other Phoenix-based firearms trafficking case involving Holder and 15 other senior Justice Department officials.

As CBS News has reported, Fast and Furious and a number of other ATF trafficking operations as far back as 2006 allegedly used a controversial tactic called "letting guns walk." That means agents allowed the weapons to be sold to suspected traffickers for Mexican drug cartels without interdicting them. The idea was to eventually get enough evidence to take down a cartel.

Holder responds to critics on Fast and Furious

Today's subpoena seeks documents that Justice Department hasn't provided voluntarily over the past months. It also asks for many specific communications among Justice Department officials, ATF officials and the Arizona U.S. Attorney's office.

Memos contradict Holder on "Fast and Furious"

Yesterday at a news conference on an unrelated topic, Holder told reporters "We have sent thousands of pages of documents up to the Hill. We'll look at the subpoenas. I'm sure we will undoubtedly comply with them."

Holder added that in dealing with the Fast and Furious inquiry, it will not detract his agency from important business it has to do.

(Watch Holder's statement to Congress in May, 2011 below)

Sharyl Attkisson
Sharyl Attkisson is a CBS News investigative correspondent based in Washington. All of her stories, videos and blogs are available here.
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by Jersey_Dave October 15, 2011 11:50 AM EDT: Bravo to you Ms. Attkisson, and to CBS, for continuing to pursue this story. It is heavy, serious stuff and there are surely the slings and arrows one risks with taking a magnifying glass to any political administration. However a lot of people have died on both sides of the border in these cartel wars and criminal attacks, and you are doing a tremendous public service in pursuing this to get the truth out of our government. Hopefully what you are doing now will save lives in the future and ensure greater transparency from the Government. God bless you guys!; Reply to this comment

by malcolmkyle October 13, 2011 12:52 PM EDT

The fast & furious gun-running Feds are not only guilty of murder but also of bankrolling ruthless criminals, international terrorists, right/left-wing paramilitaries and various death squads with their counter-productive, sado-moralist policy of Prohibition.

Colombia, Peru, Mexico or Afghanistan with their coca leaves, marijuana buds or poppy sap are not igniting temptation in the minds of our weak, innocent citizens. These countries are duly responding to the enormous demand that comes from within our own borders. Invading or destroying these countries, thus creating more hate, violence, instability, injustice and corruption, will not fix our problem. We need to collectively admit that we are sick. -- Prohibition is neither a sane nor a safe approach; left unabated, its puritanical flames will surely engulf every last one of us!

When we legally regulate something, (as opposed to when we foolishly attempt to prohibit something) we do NOT automatically condone it's use; the legal regulations concerning the sale and manufacture of alcohol and tobacco are there to protect us from the vast increase in criminality and mayhem that would otherwise surely exist if we were foolish enough to prohibit them.

When governments prohibit drugs they effectively and knowingly hand a monopoly on their sale to dangerous criminals and terrorists. Without a legal framework in which to operate, these black-market entities can always be expected to settle their disputes violently, while terrorizing many peaceful and innocent citizens in the process. Were the users of alcohol to blame for the St Valentines massacre in the US in 1929? Of course not! It is just as naive to assume that one can compel all the users of Marijuana or Cocaine to simply quit, as it is to assume that all the users of Alcohol should have stopped drinking after the introduction of alcohol prohibition in 1919.

Protect our Children; Legalize, Regulate & Tax!

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by Bonjee1 October 13, 2011 6:15 PM EDT: I agree. I would think that the government would want this, since it would bring in huge tax revenues, as I'm sure it would be heavily taxed, maybe in the same method as tobacco. Also it would save huge amounts of money on police, etc, as it would cut way down on the crime that originates from this illegal trade.


by Bonjee1 October 13, 2011 10:35 AM EDT: You want to talk about "new lows?" in an president? Instead of serving the citizen's who put him in office, he spends his time either; fund-raising to keep his reign of power and destruction; frantically working behind the scenes along with our attorney general, to figure out how to evade blame for fast & furious: working under the radar with Van Jones, move on org, code pink, unions, and various Soro's funded organizations to gather people to the Wall Street Revolution, and maybe on to Anarchy; breaking every world record for spending taxpayer's money on worthless "green" scams - destroying our economy; showing up on our TV screens with those long drawn out speeches, using the same tone, same words, never any real emotion or any talk of his love or our country or constitution. It seems he cannot do ANYTHING to benefit America, because it goes against everything he stands for! Chicago Mafia-style government!; Reply to this comment


by rshawk October 12, 2011 8:12 PM EDT: Items 4 and 5 in the Subpoena would include all information about " Wide Reciever " I suppose. I thought the Subpoena might want to unredact the redactions.; Reply to this comment


by samXXkiley October 12, 2011 4:19 PM EDT: coucou,
no one is above the law, even the Department of Justice
This department has deliberately hidden information related to this case "gunwalking"
"au revoir"; Reply to this comment


by JustSkip October 12, 2011 4:07 PM EDT: RE : Iran Assination Plot

This country is in SERIOUS Trouble.

Did anyone else notice that this story broke on the same day as Eric Holder was subpoenaed in the "Fast and Furious" debacle?

Also there is some evidence surfacing that Hillary Clinton also was a key player in "Fast and Furious"

This Iran issue may be being used as a Smokescreen for "Fast and Furious"; Reply to this comment


by JustSkip October 12, 2011 4:07 PM EDT: This country is in SERIOUS Trouble.

Did anyone else notice that this story broke on the same day as Eric Holder was subpoenaed in the "Fast and Furious" debacle?

Also there is some evidence surfacing that Hillary Clinton also was a key player in "Fast and Furious"

This Iran issue may be being used as a Smokescreen for "Fast and Furious"; Reply to this comment


by rshawk October 12, 2011 1:58 PM EDT: I want to know the truth more than see heads roll. Someone(s) made a decision to do this thing and then cover it up. 2 Americans and 200 Mexicans are known dead because of this " investigation " and it doesn't appear to be a "botched sting". It does not appear to be unintentional or a result of insufficient resources. Agent Dodson testified that it was mandated and no one has discredited him or the other whistle blowers. If Holder resigns I still want to know what was behind this. A stone wall can be tore down.; Reply to this comment

by karek40 October 12, 2011 1:44 PM EDT

If Holder knew about it I hope they prosecute him and he gets jail time. Eventually we have to hold those who run our country responsible for their criminal behavior, not just censure them and they continue to hold office.

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by canislupus16 October 12, 2011 2:54 PM EDT: I agree. You are right, karek40. Along with Holder it's about time Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, and Ashcroft are subpoenaed and indicted.


by Bonjee1 October 13, 2011 6:45 PM EDT: We really do need to go after the crime and corruption that is so evident now. If we don't it is going to spread through the country like a cancer. History shows that when ever a society has a corrupt and immoral leader, that the people follow suit.


by BPatMan October 12, 2011 1:04 PM EDT: Congratulations CBS and Sharyl Attkisson! You are the only one of the big 3 networks with a story about the Fast & Furious subpoena. Imagine where Bob Woodward would be if the MSM had buried Watergate the way it's trying to bury Fast & Furious.; Reply to this comment