Holder's Meltdown Speaks Volumes

If anyone had doubts as to just how much contempt Attorney General Eric Holder has for the institution of Congress (pun intended), those doubts dissipated when Holder became unhinged during a heated exchange with Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) in his testimony before Congress.

Fox News described the exchange:

Attorney General Eric Holder got into a heated argument with a Republican congressman Tuesday over the still-pending contempt case against him.

Holder was testifying before the House Judiciary Committee when Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, began pressing him for documents in a separate investigation. Gohmert brought up an apparent sore spot, referencing the 2012 House vote finding Holder in contempt of Congress.

“I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our attorney general, but it is important that we have proper oversight,” Gohmert said.

A visibly annoyed Holder said: “You don’t want to go there, buddy.” Leaning back in his chair, he added, “You don’t want to go there, okay?”

“I don’t want to go there?” Gohmert responded.

Holder went on to say that the congressman “should not assume that that is not a big deal to me.”

“I think that it was inappropriate and it was unjust, but never think that was not a big deal to me. Don’t ever think that,” Holder said, pointing his finger.

Two quick observations: First, there is simply no excuse for the nation’s highest law enforcement officer, even if pushed, to refer to a member of Congress as “buddy” or “pal” like a playground bully scrounging for lunch money. That may be the “Chicago Way,” but it is entirely inappropriate. And second, whenever I see a politician point his finger to emphasize a point, it’s impossible not to think of Bill Clinton and his “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” moment. Or Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook speech.” Finger pointing, as we have seen time and time again, is usually done by people who have something to hide.

And Eric Holder has much to hide.

Holder is at the center of one of the most serious scandals of the Obama administration, “Operation Fast and Furious,” where weapons were allowed to “walk” across the border by our government and into the hands of Mexican drug cartel members. One of those weapons wound up at the crime scene of murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, precipitating public outrage and congressional investigations. Countless Mexican citizens, by Holder’s own admission, will also be shot and killed by weapons supplied by his Justice Department’s gun-running operation.

Holder’s attempts to obstruct justice in the investigation of Fast and Furious were the reason for the attorney general’s contempt citation and for his embarrassing exchange with Rep. Gohmert. (Holder continued his political haranguing at a conference run by the infamous race-hustler Al Sharpton the day after his testimony.)

As Rep. Gohmert pointed out, if Holder had any respect at all for the institution of Congress, or any sincere regret over the contempt citation, he would begin cooperating and release the records that will help us to unravel one of the most shameful chapters of Holder’s tenure. 

But he won’t. Because he can’t. To release those records is to prove his guilt. He knows it. We know it. Congress knows it. And so does the president, who made a desperate effort to protect Holder by claiming Fast and Furious records were protected by executive privilege, which they are not.

Judicial Watch will “go there” until justice is done. We have sued the Obama administration repeatedly for Fast and Furious records. And we continue to expose the administration’s stonewalling and lies to educate the American people. In fact, Fast and Furious was covered extensively in our hard-hitting documentary District of Corruption, in which, in a nice coincidence, Congressman Gohmert appears. (Click here to get your DVD copy for the story Holder isn’t telling.)

The American people have had enough lying. Enough excuses. Enough go-nowhere congressional investigations tainted by politics. Enough finger pointing. They want answers. And that is what we are trying to deliver. 

Holder is Obama’s protector on Benghazi, the IRS scandal, and many other scandals. And he has abused his office for the political benefit of his leftist allies. Americans concerned about honest government should support our efforts to hold Holder to account.