Washington, DC– Rep.  Pete Olson (TX-22) today issued the following statement regarding the vote by the House of Representatives to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress:

"For eight months, Congress has requested information from the Justice Department to determine who was responsible for, and had knowledge of, the flawed Fast and Furious gun-walking operation. Yet, Attorney General Holder has refused to cooperate with Congress about the operation and failed to produce requested documents. Last week, President Obama defended Holder's decision to keep America in the dark and wrongfully asserted Executive Privilege to deny release of the requested documents.

"Agent Brian Terry's family and the American public deserve answers, yet the Attorney General and the President wish to hide the truth. Unfortunately, the only mechanism left for Congress to exercise its constitutionally mandated oversight powers, is to hold the Attorney General in contempt."

In 2010, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Department of Justice implemented Operation Fast and Furious, a botched government scheme that put American guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and resulted in the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and an estimated 200  Mexican citizens.

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