GOP Moves to Charge Holder With Contempt

Darrell Issa and the House Oversight Committee he heads up have set the wheels in motion to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt, alleging that he hasn't cooperated with their investigation into the Fast and Furious fiasco. Committee officials got the green light from John Boehner after an almost day-long meeting in his office, sources tell the LA Times. "The department's refusal to work with Congress … is inexcusable and cannot stand," says a draft of the 48-page citation.

If the full House votes in favor, a contempt resolution will be sent to either Washington's US attorney's office or an independent counsel, in an effort to compel Holder to provide more internal documents. Holder insists the Justice Department is cooperating—it has already handed over more than 6,400 pages. The contempt charge escalates Issa's feud with the administration and with Holder, whom he once compared to Nixon's Attorney General John Mitchell. Holder's reply: "Have you no shame?" (More Fast and Furious stories.)