Update 3:30 CST
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has approved a resolution holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.
The measure now goes to the full House.
Attorney General Eric Holder did not produce any of the documents he and Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa agreed on. The Department of Justice agreed to hand over 1300 pages in order to postpone tomorrow's contempt vote. Chairman Issa demanded them by Wednesday morning.
Wednesday morning came and went. Mr. Holder turned up to the 20 minute meeting empty handed as well. Instead Mr. Holder briefed Chairman Issa and others on the documents.
Chairman Issa released this statement after the meeting:
I had hoped that after this evening's meeting I would be able to tell you that the Department had delivered documents that would justify the postponement of tomorrow's vote on contempt. The Department told the Committee on Thursday that it had documents it could produce that would answer our questions. Today, the Attorney General informed us that the Department would not be producing those documents. The only offer they made involved us ending our investigation.
| That's not an offer, that's a demand. One would think the Attorney General of the United States should know the difference. |
While I still hope the Department will reconsider its decision so tomorrow's vote can be postponed, after this meeting I cannot say that I am optimistic. At this point, we simply do not have the documents we have repeatedly said we need to justify the postponement of a contempt vote in committee. |