Investigation of Fast and Furious

Washington D.C.—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, filed an amicus brief in the contempt lawsuit brought by House Republicans against Attorney General Eric H. Holder relating to Operation Fast and Furious. Cummings was joined by three House Members who all served previously as Chairmen of the Oversight Committee—Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Rep. Henry A. Waxman, and Rep.

Washington, DC (June 28, 2012) –Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement in response to the House of Representatives' unprecedented vote today to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress:

Washington, DC —Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner calling for his direct and personal involvement in resolving the unprecedented effort to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

Washington, DC—A new video released today called "Blind Alleys" details how the investigation of gunwalking under Operation Fast and Furious being conducted by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been based on a series of unfounded claims and unsubstantiated allegations that turned out to be inaccurate after investigation.

Washington, DC -- Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called on House Speaker John Boehner to meet with Attorney General Eric Holder to resolve the dispute over requested documents regarding the Committee's investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.

Washington, DC —On Wednesday, all Democratic Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform voted unanimously to reject the contempt citation proposed by Committee Chairman Darrell Issa against Attorney General Eric Holder. The Democrats—who represent districts in Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vermont, Virginia, Iowa, Missouri, and California, among others—concluded that holding the Attorney General in contempt would be an extreme, unprecedented action based on partisan election-year politics rather than the facts uncovered during the investigation.

Chairman Issa is set to push forward with a vote to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt of Congress despite the Administration's assertion of executive privilege this morning. Previous Chairmen have suspended contempt proceedings to conduct a careful and responsible review of executive branch privilege assertions before proceeding to contempt, but Chairman Issa dismissed requests from multiple Committee members to do so.

For example:

Washington, DC – Rep. Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued the following statement today about the Committee's vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

"What we just witnessed was an extreme, virtually unprecedented action based on election year politics rather than fact," said Cummings. "Even in the face of an assertion of executive privilege, the Republicans didn't even pause to consider the law and instead decided to take this extreme step.