Unprecedented, Unwarranted, Ugly and Divisive Eric Holder Goes Cuckoo Bananas on Congress’ Unprecedented, Unwarranted, Ugly Divisiveness

Posted: April 10, 2014 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Law & Justice, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: ATF gunwalking scandal, Contempt of Congress, Eric Holder, Gohmert, Holder, John Boehner, Louie Gohmert, United States Department of Justice |1 Comment

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From Mike Levin, ABC’s The Note

…with a finger raised, Holder told the crowd in New York that his tenure as attorney general has been “defined by significant strides … even in the face of unprecedented, unwarranted, ugly and divisive adversity.”

The day before, after Gohmert ran out of time to ask questions, Holder leaned into the microphone in front of him and wished Gohmert “good luck with your asparagus.” It was a not-so-subtle dig at Gohmert’s bizarre remark last year when he warned Holder not to “cast aspersions on my asparagus.”

“You don’t want to go there, buddy. You don’t want to go there, OK?”

— Divisive, controversial U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder

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Holder has had a tense relationship with several Republican lawmakers since the Republican-led House held him in contempt of Congress two years ago for failing to turn over certain documents tied to the Fast and Furious scandal involving botched firearms sting operations despite a congressional subpoena seeking those documents.

“I don’t need lectures from you about contempt.”

— Louie Gohmert

In asking Holder on Tuesday about the Justice Department’s refusal to turn over documents in an unrelated terrorism case, Gohmert again raised the issue of contempt, saying, “I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight.”

“The American people have not been told the truth about what happened in Fast and Furious. We’ve been going through all of these hearings, having to hold people in contempt because they’ve made it impossible to get to the documents… ”

— House Speaker John Boehner

A visibly upset Holder, leaning back in his chair, shot back, “You don’t want to go there, buddy. You don’t want to go there, OK?”

“You should not assume that that is not a big deal to me,” Holder added, pointing a finger toward the congressman. “I think it was inappropriate. I think it was unjust. But never think that was not a big deal to me. Don’t ever think that.”

Gohmert pressed the issue.

“There have been no indications that it was a big deal, because your department has still not been forthcoming in producing the documents that were the subject of the contempt,” Gohmert said.

“I don’t need lectures from you about contempt,” Gohmert added.

“And I don’t need lectures from you either,” Holder responded.

The documents at issue were mostly from the months after the public first learned that an Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation called Fast and Furious put guns into the hands of criminals in Mexico. Republican lawmakers subpoenaed the Justice Department for internal emails dated after Feb. 4, 2011, when department officials realized they would have to retract a letter to Congress denying any such thing happened.

But President Obama then asserted executive privilege over the documents, and Republicans filed suit in federal court…(read more)

ABC News