The Department of Justice has promptly told the House of Representatives that it will not pursue a criminal contempt of Congress citation against its boss, Attorney General Eric Holder, asserting that his refusal to release internal documents “does not constitute a crime.”
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, sent even before House Republicans could refer the criminal contempt citation for prosecution, Deputy Attorney Gen. James Cole cited President Barack Obama’s assertion of executive privilege and other obstacles in refusing to cooperate.
But House Republicans passed a second, civil contempt citation that allows them to hire their own attorney and legal staff to file a civil lawsuit asking a judge to force Holder to turn over 1,500 pages of documents related to the Fast and Furious gun-tracking case. It is his refusal to do so that brought the two contempt citations passed by the House on Thursday evening.
