Issa drops bombshell letter at Holder contempt hearing

As a debate raged on the floor of Congress over contempt proceedings for Attorney General Eric Holder, the Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform, Darrell Issa, (R-CA) inserted a letter into the Congressional Record. His dropping of the letter would normally be considered illegal, except Issa is protected by a clause in the Constitution.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The letter contains information about wiretap applications that would tell anyone reading them what tactics were being used in the operation. The information in the letter directly contradicts statements by the Attorney General that such information did not exist in the applications. 

Normally the letter would be kept from the public because they are under court seal, however Issa's dropping the letter is technically protected under the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution. That clause is intended to protect members of the legislature from arrest while on their way to cast votes on measures to which a president would object.

Holder has stated previously that such information did not exist, and the letter now stands on the record in stark opposition to that claim. The wiretap applications were signed by senior Department of Justice (DOJ) officials which makes it unlikely that Holder was ignorant of their contents. 

The ongoing hearings are linked to Fast and Furious, a botched DOJ attempt to gain information on Mexican drug cartels. The plan was to smuggle US weapons across the border into Mexico then see at which crime scenes they turned up. However, the weapons were lost and have never been recovered. Two were found at a murder scene where US Border Patrol Agent, Brian Terry was killed. Hundreds of deaths in Mexico are also thought connected to the missing weapons. 

The letter submitted by Issa contains specific details including exactly who bought how many guns and for how much.  It also says how many guns were recovered in Mexico. The letter also contains financial information on each of four purchasers listed in the letter. Four men paid some $373,000 in cash for the weapons despite having no income reported for the previous year, an obvious sign of cartel smugglers. 

With new revelations now made public, it is likely that pressure will mount against Eric Holder and the Democrats in Congress who want to protect him, and the President from scandal. 

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