Press Releases

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, Chairman Issa released a letter to the President challenging the legal basis for his assertion of executive privilege over deliberative Justice Department documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious, but his letter omitted key information from the primary judicial case on which his argument relies.

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.

Washington, DC - Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings commended the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and housing regulators for issuing joint guidance yesterday to protect military homeowners who have received Permanent Change of Station orders.

The interagency guidance is intended to ensure that mortgage servicers comply with consumer laws and regulations when a servicemember is ordered by the military to relocate.

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.

Washington DC (June 18, 2012)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement in response to a letter from Attorney General Eric Holder to the Committee proposing an in-person meeting on Tuesday, June 19, to finalize a proposed agreement between the Department and the Committee to avoid a contempt vote scheduled for this Wednesday: