According to a release obtained by PJMedia, Idaho Rep. Raúl R. Labrador is calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign after documents have surfaced purporting to show Holder was aware of the failed Operation Fast and Furious long before he told Congress in sworn testimony he had been.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Idaho First Congressional District Congressman Raúl R. Labrador called for the resignation of United States Attorney General Eric Holder after evidence of discrepancies in his previous testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary was brought to light by a national media outlet.
Mr. Labrador has been critical of potential abuses of the Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BAFTE) since his March 17, 2011 letter to Oversight Chairman Darrel Issa urging his committee to conduct in-depth investigations into allegations of weapons being sold, with federal government complicity, to Mexican cartels. Over 1,500 such weapons remain unaccounted for and already one was found at the scene of the death of an American law enforcement officer.
Labrador stated, “I first learned about Fast and Furious early this year from several of my constituents. I then asked Chairman Issa to hold hearings on the topic. As I attended the hearings and reviewed the evidence, I was careful to not jump to any conclusions about the extent of Mr. Holder’s involvement. However, the recently published documents that directly link Mr. Holder to Fast and Furious have convinced me that he is either lying or grossly incompetent.”
Rep. Labrador continued, “The Attorney General of the United States has an obligation to provide truthful and accurate testimony to Congress. When Attorney General Eric Holder testified before Congress on May 3, his statements were either untrue or deliberately misleading. It is clear from recently-released documents that Mr. Holder did in fact know about Fast and Furious well before he publicly admitted. Attorney General Holder has a troubling pattern of failed cooperation with the legislative branch. Because of this intentional stonewalling and his misleading testimony, I now call for Mr. Holder’s resignation. It is clear he has not been honest about the extent of his involvement with the failed Fast and Furious program and should not be entrusted with managing the Department of Justice.“
“He cannot avoid responsibility for his involvement with a government program that directly led to the tragic death of a decorated U.S. Border Patrol agent. As our nation’s top enforcer of the principles of law and justice, Mr. Holder has lost all credibility and should step down immediately. The question now is if Mr. Holder is he only protecting himself or is he also protecting others – perhaps all the way to the top of the administration,” Labrador concluded.
He’s the first, it’s unlikely he’ll be the last.
Personally, I’d like to see Holder stay. It strains credulity to believe President Barack Obama was unaware of the operation and gave at least tacit approval. Should Holder go down the administration will be able to say “look, the guy responsible is gone, the issue is now over. This scandal has the potential to bring down the administration before the election. Here’s hoping holder will hang on.
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