Another Democrat is openly refusing to defend embattled Attorney General Eric Holder — a possible sign that support from those in his own party is waning.
A spokesman for Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that he has “no comment” when asked whether he supports Holder amid the surge of Republicans demanding his resignation and the recent support of one Democrat for holding Holder in contempt of Congress.
Holder has failed to comply with a congressional subpoena into Operation Fast and Furious, prompting House Republicans to draft a contempt of Congress citation for him. Some Democrats are now choosing to avoid openly defending Holder, and one Democrat, Rep. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, now supports the House Oversight Committee’s effort to force Holder to comply with the subpoena.
Altmire was one of 31 House Democrats — along with Donnelly — who wrote to President Barack Obama in June 2011 asking him to direct Holder and the Department of Justice to comply with the congressional investigation into Fast and Furious. Altmire spokesman Richard Carbo told The Daily Caller that he’s “well aware of the work” his boss “has done on this issue.”
When pressed on whether his boss still has confidence in Holder, Carbo said he’s got “no comment,” making him the second Democrat to refuse to defend Holder from the scores of Republican lawmakers demanding he resign and the greater number pushing for him to comply with the subpoena. Oklahoma Democratic Rep. Dan Boren chose not to defend Holder before, saying he had “no comment” amid Republican demands for Holder’s resignation.
Other Democrats have been critical of how Holder’s handled Fast and Furious, too. (RELATED: Full coverage of Eric Holder)
Issa served Holder a subpoena on Oct. 12, 2011. Holder has failed to comply with all 22 categories of the subpoena that demands he provide documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. With 13 of the categories, Holder has provided no documents. When it comes to the other nine subpoena categories, Holder is still far from compliant, as TheDC reported late last week.
At this point, 127 House members have demanded Holder resign or be fired, have expressed “no confidence” in him via a formal resolution, or both. All of them are Republicans. Three U.S. senators, two sitting governors and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney have also demanded Holder resign.
Issa has appealed to each of those 31 Democrats to ask them to support him moving forward.