GOP Freshmen Press For Contempt Vote On Holder

House conservatives, fearing that Republican leaders may try to avoid an election-year confrontation with the Obama administration, are insisting that House Speaker John Boehner press ahead with contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Eric Holder over the Fast and Furious gun-running operation.

Five House Republican freshmen wrote to Boehner, R-Ohio, demanding that he schedule a vote on the contempt charges, something Boehner has so far resisted.

“It’s time for the House to formally recognize the obvious: That Attorney General Holder has not and will not cooperate with the legitimate investigation launched by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and is therefore in contempt of Congress,” the freshmen said in the letter.

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., wants Holder to turn over additional information, including internal Justice Department emails related to Fast and Furious, an operation in which U.S. officials allowed American guns to flow to Mexico in hopes of following the guns to drug cartel leaders. One of those guns was used to murder U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in 2010.

Boehner has not scheduled a vote on the contempt charges against Holder and is instead trying to keep the Republican-controlled House focused on election-year issues like the struggling economy, the national debt and unemployment.

Read More at washingtonexaminer.com. By Susan Ferrechio.