Republicans prepare contempt citation against Eric Holder over Fast and Furious

AP Photo/Susan Walsh

UPDATED 6:45 p.m. ET

(CBS News) -- House Republicans investigating the Fast and Furious scandal plan to pursue a contempt citation against Attorney General Eric Holder, senior congressional aides told CBS News.

The resolution will accuse Holder and his Justice Department of obstructing the congressional probe into the allegations that the government let thousands of weapons fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

The citation would attempt to force Holder to turn over tens of thousands of pages of documents related to the probe, which has entered its second year.

For months, congressional Republicans probing ATF's Fast and Furious "Gunwalker" scandal - led by California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, have been investigating a contempt citation. They've worked quietly behind the scenes to build support among fellow Republicans, since it could ultimately face a full House vote.

CBS News has confirmed that House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, was provided a 48-page long draft by Issa, who heads the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

"While there are very legitimate arguments to be made in favor of such an action, no decision has been made to move forward with one by the Speaker or by House Republican leaders," a Republican leadership aide told CBS News.

Government's answer to "Fast and Furious" records requests: Blank pages

Congressional staffers involved in the discussions say leadership approval is not needed for the Oversight panel to proceed. However, Boehner would have to okay any vote taken by the full House of Representatives.

A Justice Department official told CBS News it has been complying with Congress' investigation, doing twice-per-month production of documents since last year, providing more than 7,300 pages of documents. The official says the Attorney General has testified on Fast and Furious or gunwalking "no less than seven times and...provided more than a dozen officials for hearings, briefings and interviews."

Government's answers to "Fast and Furious" records request: Blank pages 

The top Democrat on the panel slammed Issa's move as part of "an election-year witch hunt against the Obama administration."

"Leaking a draft contempt citation that members of our committee have never seen suggests that you are more interested in perpetuating your partisan political feud in the press than in obtaining any specific substantive information relating to the committee's investigation," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, referring to a report in the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the plan.

"These actions undermine the credibility of the Committee, as well as the integrity and validity of any contempt actions the Committee ultimately may choose to adopt in the future.

How does a contempt proceeding against the executive branch work?

Both Democrats and Republicans have used it, but rarely. After former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten refused to comply with congressional subpoenas on the George W. Bush administration firing of U.S. attorneys in 2008, the Democrat-led House voted to hold them in contempt.

The House then went to a federal district court seeking a declaratory judgment and injunction ordering Miers and Bolten to comply with the subpoenas. The district court ruled in favor of the House, the ruling was subsequently stayed, and a compromise was reached.

Under President Clinton, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to hold Attorney General Janet Reno in contempt over documents regarding campaign finance law violations.

In the case of Holder and Fast and Furious, the Oversight Committee's contempt resolution could eventually have a full House vote and, if passed, Congress could seek enforcement through federal courts. Passage of the resolution itself could, however, encourage the Justice Department to comply even without a court order.

The Justice Department has maintained it is cooperating with the investigation and has made more than 6,400 pages of documents available for congressional review. However, congressional investigators say the Justice Department has supplied the documents piecemeal and highly redacted, and that tens of thousands of pages of internal documents are responsive to congressional subpoenas.

A contempt citing by Congress against the executive branch, a strong sanction, is considered by some to be politically risky; especially if it doesn't succeed. Sources say that's why Republican staffers have taken a great deal of time trying to build support among colleagues in advance of the citation's formal release, which could come in the next few weeks if not sooner.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article said Issa had House Speaker John Boehner's backing on the citation. As noted above, he has not yet made a formal decision on the matter.

[opptang]

So if I understand this, Attorney General is investigating Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Az. For Violating Rights of illegal immigrants' and being racist for performing car stops and asking for drivers license and insurance and if they happen to be Latin = Mexican he somehow violated their rights "oh E.B.T. Card is not considered a valid Driver's License" but Eric Holder gave the orders for Fast and furious to proceed and fund it, this operation of Eric Holder has Killed over two hundred fifty (250) Latin or Mexican's across the U.S. and with in Mexico not to mention the Death of a Boarder Agent on his hands. Who did Sheriff Joe Arpaio kill? Why is Eric Hold still heading the A.G. Office and not in jail? Eric Holder Killed over 250 Latin people would he be consider racist?

[2happy2ride]

I firmly believe this directive came from the WH. That is why Holder has not cooperated. If you read the emails, it was clear this was another deceptive effort to enforce more gun laws & eventual elimination.
Obama's list of unethical blunders & misjudged embarrassments keep piling up. His lack of experience is becoming more apparent every day.
Romney 2012! Put REAL EXPERIENCE in the WH.

[82ndairbornediv]

Election year theater... can't get Mittens elected without it.

[BettyVA]

So we are just going to ignore the fact that the Gun Walking Tactic was used starting in 2006? And that only AFTER Obama was in office were arrests made? Bush's administration let hundreds of guns walk without a single arrest. Where's the outrage for that? Who is the Republican head of the DOJ are we going to go after?

[parrots7]

dparks, I hate to break it to you, but your post seems clouded by Hate and make absolutely no Sense. Dumb DUmb Repugs !!

[bobthebridge]

Betty I'm sorry you're unable to understand the difference between Project Gunrunner and Fast and Furious. No guns walked into Mexico from the US. Project Gunrunner involved the surveillance of straw weapons purchasers with immediate arrests. Under Fast and Furious AFT agents were ordered to stand down and let the guns walk with zero means to trace them.
Quit spouting lies.

[Pope_AlGore]

Wow, Barack Obama and Eric Holder delivered a bunch of guns to the Mexican drug cartels which ended up killing hundreds of citizens all throughout Latin America?? Are Hispanic voters OK with this cover up? Do they appreciate the complete lack of scandal coverage by the Obama-worshiping US media?

We've seen a thousand times more Travon Martin coverage than we have about this scandal, which is infinitely more disturbing. Just imagine how the leftist "journalists" who infest the liberal US media would have covered this story -- if only it had been George Bush been behind it, instead of Barack Obama?!

[nuttyworld]

It's about time! This is the most corrupt Administration.

[jimatmadison]

More flummoxery by the WeGotNothingpublicans.

[dc2ndresr]

After the Harriet Meyers, Gonzalez, Monica Goodling, Karl Rove total prostitution of the US DOJ, you traitors want to have another Robert Bork type lunatic heaping on the gravy for the totally corrupt GOP 1% ers?
This almost GOP destroyed cess-pool of special interest pampering no name parochial law school staffed parody of legality inhereted by BHO And Holderf, is finally living up to its name; JUSTICE which no true Tea Party fanatic will ever support. Why is it that only Fox Freaks are even following this political witch hunt by Issa, whose record is less than clean. Isn't he now running hearings tp prause vaginal ptobes? You hypervintilating hypocrits are more amusing than most knuckle dragging ideologues.

[Sully4us]

The more appropriate charges are perjury for lying to Congress when he said he didn't have details of the operation which is directly contradicted by Justice memo's to Holder or violations of numerous existing Federal Firearms statutes which prohibit supplying weapons to criminals and foreign crime enterprises which clearly Holder/Obama violated.

[markchristopher]

Time for this weenie to get put in jail, along with Obama.