A U.S. District Court Judge denied the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the House of Representatives’ lawsuit demanding administration documents related to the Operation Fast and Furious gun walking scandal.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) released a statement Monday reacting to the decision by Judge Amy Berman Jackson:
“This ruling is a repudiation of the Obama Justice Department and Congressional Democrats who argued the courts should have no role in the dispute over President Obama’s improper assertion of executive privilege to protect an attempted Justice Department cover-up of Operation Fast and Furious,” said Chairman Issa. “I remain confident in the merits of the House’s decision to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt; this ruling is an important step toward the transparency and accountability the Obama Administration has refused to provide.”
The Justice Department can appeal the ruling on this motion to dismiss it to the federal court of appeals. However, if DOJ does not appeal Berman’s decision, the judge can move forward and ultimately make a ruling on the overall case itself.
The President asserted executive privilege over these subpoenaed documents on June 20th 2012.
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