Holder in contempt -- so what's next?
Grassfire Nation Update
By now most everyone is aware that Eric Holder is the first Attorney General in U.S. history to be held in contempt by Congress -- with 17 democrats voting in support of the contempt charge.
And getting those democrats to vote in favor of the contempt charge is no small matter -- our understanding is that this was a highly charged political battle -- played out during the vote when many democrats walked out in protest.
From the very beginning, the American public wanted justice and closure for the family of slain border agent Brian A. Terry. That's why throughout our deliveries to the Department of Justice, the House Oversight committee as well has House leadership -- grassroots response was always strong.
Even leading to this historic vote, Grassfire Nation hand-delvered 162,675 "Holder Must Go!" petitions -- a nearly 40,000 signature increase in less than two weeks!
And that doesn't include the thousands of faxes, and untold phone calls to lawmakers that also made a huge impact in this vote.
So what is next?
According to numerous reports, the contempt case now moves to the U.S. Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Ronald Machen who can file criminal charges against Holder and bring the case to a grand jury.
But because U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen works for Holder and because President Obama has already asserted executive privilege over the documents in question, it was expected Holder's Justice Department would not take that step.
In fact, in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, Deputy Attorney General James Cole confirmed that the department would not pursue prosecution. "The attorney general's withholding of documents pertaining to Operation Fast and Furious," he wrote, "does not constitute a crime."
However, Boehner told The Hill that House Republicans will file a lawsuit in district court challenging President
Barack Obama’s assertion of executive privilege over the documents under subpoena "within the next several weeks."
He reasserted his position during a Sunday appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation" saying, "The American
people have a right to know what happened here [Operation "Fast and Furious"]."
Meanwhile, a campus protest in front of the White House this morning calling for Eric Holder's firing was quickly, and abruptly halted by the Secret Service.
While there appears to be a political stalemate in place. John Boehner committed to bird-dogging this quest for justice, and so should grassroots Americans. We can't allow "Fast and Furious" to slip away, either. Justice has yet to be served, and as Americans, we cannot forget the family of Brian A. Terry!
To this end, Grassfire is committed to carrying this banner forward -- updating and alerting the nearly 165,000 citizens who have stood with us.
Thank you for your outstanding efforts throughout!
Steve
P.S. Continue to monitor our news portal LibertyNews.com for the latest news and information on the Holder contempt and so much more.
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