FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                CONTACT: Joshua Gillespie
June 28, 2012                                                                                                               (317)848-0201

Rep. Dan Burton’s Statement on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Being in Criminal Contempt of Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) released the following statement after the House voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt of Congress:

“For the past sixteen months, the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has stonewalled the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s investigation into the gun walking operation known as “Operation Fast and Furious”.  Last week, the President compounded this travesty by evoking his Executive Privilege. In response to the Administration’s refusal to cooperate, the House voted, in a bi-partisan manner, to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in criminal contempt of Congress.

We must not forget, the heart of this congressional investigation into Operation Fast and Furious has been to seek answers into the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, as well as hundreds of innocent Mexican citizens, all killed by guns supplied to Mexican drug war lords by our own federal government.  No one is above the law.  It is the fundamental duty of Congress to find out why this happened and to ensure this kind of reckless behavior is not tolerated or ever allowed to happen again."

Background:

Congressman Burton, in a floor speech earlier today, laid out the case for contempt charges to be brought against U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

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