[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H4074-H4075]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN OPPOSITION TO THE HOLDER CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to 
this resolution to hold in contempt Attorney General of the United 
States Mr. Eric Holder. This contempt resolution does no good in moving 
along the investigation of the gun-walking operations across our 
borders nor in the investigation of the death of Border Patrol Agent 
Brian Terry, whose killing was associated with the recovery of two 
firearms linked with Operation Fast and Furious.
  Last year, the House Oversight Committee initiated an investigation 
into allegations of this operation in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
and Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, field division in Arizona. Over 
the past year, the committee has extended its investigation by 
requesting thousands of pages of documents from the Department of 
Justice and interviewing about two dozen officials. In response, the 
Department has made extraordinary attempts, in my opinion, to 
accommodate these requests by submitting over almost 8,000 pages of 
documents. Attorney General Holder has also testified before the 
committee about nine times on this matter.

[[Page H4075]]

  But the current contempt debate has lost its focus. This debate is no 
longer about gun-walking and Operation Fast and Furious. Having already 
discovered that Fast and Furious was the fourth in a series of gun-
walking operations run by ATF's Phoenix field division in Arizona, 
dating back from the time of former President George W. Bush's 
administration, and finding no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of 
the Attorney General, the committee is now turning their focus to a 
single letter sent by the Department of Justice's Office of Legislative 
Affairs to Senator Grassley on February 4, 2011, which initially denied 
allegations of gun-walking.
  The Department has acknowledged that its letter was inaccurate and 
has formally withdrawn the letter. The Department has also turned over 
1,300 pages of internal deliberative documents relating to how it was 
drafted, showing that staffers who drafted the letter relied on 
inaccurate assurances from ATF leaders and officials in Arizona who ran 
the operation. Again, the focus has shifted from the real matter of 
investigation and bringing justice to Agent Brian Terry's family.
  During the 16-month investigation, the committee refused all 
Democratic requests for key witnesses and hearings, as well as requests 
to interview any Bush administration appointees. For example, the 
committee refused a public hearing with Ken Melson, the head of ATF, as 
well as a hearing or even a private meeting with former Attorney 
General Mukasey.
  Attorney General Holder has worked in good faith, in my opinion, Mr. 
Speaker, to respond to the committee's requests and even met with the 
bipartisan leaders from both Chambers last week, offering to provide 
additional documents regarding the Fast and Furious initiative. His 
offer was rejected, and even yet the committee has continue to move the 
goal posts by demanding additional internal deliberative documents from 
after the February 4 letter that is now in question.
  Mr. Speaker, this resolution is the concluding step of what has 
turned out to be, in my opinion, an unfair process of defaming a public 
servant who has thus far made all good-faith efforts to cooperate with 
the Oversight Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, to suggest that today's debate and deliberations on this 
proposed contempt resolution against Attorney General Holder is a 
profound example of democracy at its best may also be considered a sad 
day--a sad day for our Nation and a recognition of the fact that there 
has been a failure of the system to function properly.
  I would respectfully urge the Speaker not to bring this resolution to 
the floor and allow the leadership of both sides of the Oversight 
Committee not to give up, and continue the dialogue, continue the 
deliberation, and not to question the motives and integrity of our 
colleagues on the committee, but solve the problem that is before us 
today, Mr. Speaker.

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