It was the first time in American history that Congress has imposed that sanction on a sitting member of a president’s cabinet."
The vote – 255 to 67, with one member voting present – followed an acrimonious and politically charged debate. Many Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest without voting, accusing Republicans of railroading the motion so they could inflict political damage on the Obama administration during an election year.
June 28, 2012
"The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to hold Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in contempt..."
"... for failing to disclose internal Justice Department documents in response to a subpoena."
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47 comments:
BFD. Why didn't they vote to impeach him?
More importantly, 17 Demos voted, "Aye".
Guess they're not going to the Convention, either.
(gee, it's only gonna be Barry and Joe and MSLSD)
should not the title be "Bi-Partisan" Vote.....
yes, the only possible reason for this indictment is election year politics. it couldn't possibly be the fact the attorney general refuses to deliver documents that may define the governments role in an activity that has resulted in the death of hundreds of people.
and since 17 democrats voted for the contempt citation, it's a bipartisan rebuke for holder.
richly deserved, in my opinion.
Ooh. We should make sure reports start with "In a bipartisan vote."
It's only "bipartisan" when Democrats get what they want!
Ampersand: Hundreds of dead bodies. It's really kind of basic.
hooray it is historic!
“Many Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest without voting, …”
So it would appear that last year’s Wisconsin Democratic “flee-baggers” started a new legislative trend. If you disagree, don’t argue the merits of your position, don’t vote against the proposal, just leave the building. Like Elvis. That’s courage for you.
And we, the American people, actually pay these people a salary?!
Quite the let down after Obamacare upheld. The Republic is dead now anyway, so I don't really think it matters much.
I am shifting my mindset to the serf mode of being.
Thank you sir, may I have another?
So this little wrist slap fails to capture my interest much. Obama lied much worse, and he'll be re-elected for it.
The democrats have a point. The republicans should have done this a year ago and that they waited appears to be purely political.
Now that he got the Supreme vote.. why should Obama continue to hold on to Holder?
I mean.. who is holding who?
Or is Holder holding all the cards?
“Many Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest without voting, …”
They've gone to Illinois.
Sorry Matthew,that wasn't snark. I seriously meant why isn't Holder up for impeachment? Who gives a rat's ass for contempt?
Oh. I assume because they have to follow a process of slow escalation.
The most transparent administration in history.
Another lie told in advance of the reality we now live with.
I'm losing track of the Obama lies.
@skyler: DOJ slow-rolled F&F. The timing is entirely their choosing.
The democrats have a point. The republicans should have done this a year ago and that they waited appears to be purely political.
Skyler? If you are being held against your will, blink twice.
According to George Will, Roberts gave conservatives a big win today.. bigger than holding Holder in contempt.
Hold on..
does this mean now that the Sargent at arms is holding an arrest warrant on Holder?
The democrats rely on a lot of deception.
Conservatives got a win on policy. The expansion of the Commerce and Necessary and Proper clauses has been checked and strangled. However, a moral victory is not the same as a victory victory.
“What Republicans are doing with this motion today is contemptible," Ms. Pelosi said. "Even for them, it’s contemptible.”
Pelosi says Republicans by nature are contemptable. And with rhetoric like that, we're supposed to believe that Republicans are causing this bitter partisanship.
This originated with the congressional black caucus. Because if you're black, you can do no wrong; and anyone who says you can is a racist. This clarifies the new post-racial America.
"...a moral victory is not the same as a victory victory."
Sort of like Whoopi Goldberg when she said that Roman Polanski didn't "commit rape rape".
So, Pogo. Are you going to quit or retire from medicine. I know two doctors now who have had it and are retiring. One is 55 and has a ranch and decided to get more into that. The other is in his early 60's and said screw it. It isn't worth it, with all the medi-care/medicaid clients now he can't get paid and with the flood of new welfare type recipients on the exchanges, his practice is not profitable. Plus the main reason he gave was that the meddling by the bonehead in DC make it impossible to do a good job for his patients.
If they close both practices we will be down to a very few doctors in our rural area and will most likely either have to drive 80 miles to see a doctor or (more likely) go the the emergency room until the hospital also goes under.
Thanks Supreme Court and Democraps.
The democrats have a point. The republicans should have done this a year ago and that they waited appears to be purely political.
Sure, there are two levels here, and one is definitely political. The Republicans are trying to get the maximum mileage out of the scandal
But still, it's not a made up scandal. It's real, and Holder is definitely acting like he's engaging in a coverup. If the administration doesn't want its opponents to score political points then it ought not engage in the type of behavior that gives them an easy avenue to do so.
They didn't do it a year ago because, a year ago, DOJ hadn't lied to Congress multiple times and stonewalled for more than a year.
I know two doctors now who have had it and are retiring.
Over the last year or so my doctor has said something like this a couple times when confronted with government nonsense: "I don't need to put up with this. I can retire any time I want." He didn't used to say things like that. He's one of those guys who became a doctor for the right reason - he likes to help people. But there's a limit. I fear Obamacare will push him over.
I'm Going Galt because I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!
As soon as I can find a First World Country that doesn't have universal health care, I'm outta here!
UUhhh...Holder kept dragging his feet about giving up the doc's until Issa got fed up. That the media didn't cover the story allowed Holder to slow roll it. Now the media has got it's nose under the tent and I expect some accidental journalism to occur.
So, tell me again who caused the timing of this?
Remember people we are beholding to Holder comments on this tread..
Behold!
Resistance is futile.
BFD. Why didn't they vote to impeach him?
Because impeachment requires a "high crime or misdemeanor." You have to work your way up to that, I think. Is Holder committing obstruction of justice?
Now he's in Contempt of Congress. That's a first for an A.G. Is that a high crime or misdemeanor?
I say yes!
It's not enough to have the law on your side, though. Compare it to Bill Clinton. He committed perjury and obstruction of justice. He was disbarred for his lies and his violations of the law.
But he won his impeachment trial.
Even if Holder is guilty of crimes, might he win the partisan contest?
A couple of important differences. Clinton's case was sex, sex, sex.
What are they going to say about Fast and Furious? "It's just dead Mexicans?"
I think the Obama administration thinks they can brazen this out. Hence the horseshit executive privilege claim.
This is a mistake. An impeachment trial against Eric Holder puts focus and attention on Fast and Furious. Which Obama does not want! It puts pressure on an A.G. who is covering up something. Why? And it puts pressure on Big Media. Cover the fucking story!
Most people still don't know what's going on.
The American people don't like an impeachment of a President, because the President is voted upon by us. We fire the scoundrels, not you!
Eric Holder, on the other hand, was not voted upon by the American people. The world will not shatter if an Attorney General has to be replaced.
If the impeachment is successful, then Obama has to nominate a new Attorney General, who has to be confirmed by the Senate. Thus this would affirm that an A.G. needs to be somewhat independent of the President, and not his lapdog.
But the most important thing is to find out what happened with Fast and Furious. The Obama administration is being secretive. They are covering up what looks to be serious errors in judgment (best case) or a crime (worst case).
I think at a minimum Eric Holder should be threatened with impeachment. And if the threats don't produce action on the documents, fire his ass.
As the New York Times put it, "He's impeachable, you know."
@garage
I guess you missed the articles earlier in the week about how NH in Britain is killing off old people. Why don't you go there, just pray you don't get cancer. I expect our cancer survival rates to drop below theirs now. But hey, its free, so who the fuck cares.
As soon as I can find a First World Country that doesn't have universal health care...
and its not beholden to other countries for loan garantees and whatnot.. because they promised the moon to their workers.. a moon they did not have.. a moon WE dont have, despite the Supreme vote.
Why didn't they vote to impeach him?
Because Democrats control the Senate.
a First World Country that doesn't have universal health care
France and Japan spring to mind.
The departure of the Dems in question raised the collective IQ of the remaining body by several points.
Lem said...
According to George Will, Roberts gave conservatives a big win today.. bigger than holding Holder in contempt.
By calling it a tax, you can take the Senate and don't have to worry about filibusters when you go to repeal it.
According to Senate rules, you can't filibuster a tax repeal.
Revenant said...
Why didn't they vote to impeach him?
Because Democrats control the Senate.
The House impeaches, so they could do it now.
However, the Senate does the trial.
I don't doubt Harry Reid could do a believable Roland Freisler
Holder is a lying sleaze. The proper course for an A.G. was simple. Terminate the operation, conduct an internal investigation and fire the decision makers responsible.
That he didn't do so is strong evidence that he feared those responsible for the debacle could and would implicate him and the President. It also is evidence that he has known all along that "fast and furious" involved reprehensible and probably illegal conduct.
Contempt in insufficient.
It's amusing in part because the timing has more to do with Holder's stonewalling and the general unwillingness in the media to cover the story. If they'd covered it more back when Holder withdrew the February 2011 letter, maybe we'd have made more progress by now. So the media's willingness to try to whistle past the scandal has had the effect of making the timing worse for Obama.
I understand that the Congressional Black Caucus all walked out in protest.
Do I take this as a clear signal that the CBC will not hold an African-American in government accountable for ANYTHING, even when there's a body count in the hundreds? If someone in government is black, their guiding principle is, "They have free rein to do anything they want, and we will protest anyone who says otherwise"?
Really?
That's sure the message I got.
What happens next I wonder? I guess Holder sees if he can bob and weave till November where he resigns no matter what the outcome. Maybe President Romney can open up the files next March?
Exactly, Barry D. The entire Congressional Black Caucus walked out. Guess we know who the racists REALLY are.
The media will never call the CBC racists. Never ever ever ever ever.
"I think the Obama administration thinks they can brazen this out. Hence the horseshit executive privilege claim."
The token Democrats on Fox News the other night were saying the contempt vote was a mistake because it takes the focus off the economy. That's amusing because Obama supporters are saying anything that distracts from the crappy economy is good for Obama.
It's like when his poll numbers went up because he disappeared from view last fall.
Some follow up links, a day later (thanks to Drudge:
Darrell Issa Puts Details of Secret Wiretap Applications in Congressional Record
Holder controversies could weigh on Obama in 2012 race
Analysis: Republicans vow to take Holder to court
House could arrest Holder with inherent contempt power
(Justice Department shields Holder from prosecution after contempt vote
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