Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn told The Daily Caller on Wednesday that he thinks Attorney General Eric Holder needs to comply with the congressional subpoena demanding documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious.
Cornyn also said he thinks Holder’s demonstrable failure to comply with House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa’s subpoena for Fast and Furious documents is an indicator of his overall disregard for congressional oversight.
“It’s abundantly clear that when it comes to cooperating with Congress, the Attorney General’s arrogance knows no bounds,” Cornyn told TheDC.
President Barack Obama now has a responsibility to step forward and make Holder comply with the subpoena, Cornyn added. He said Obama and Holder owe it the family of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, who was murdered more than a year ago with Fast and Furious weapons the Obama administration allowed to get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
“President Obama should show leadership and direct the Attorney General to provide the Terry family with answers,” Cornyn said.
Issa served Holder with a subpoena on Oct. 12, 2011. The Attorney General has so far failed to comply with all 22 categories of the subpoena that requires him to provide Congress with documents relating to 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.
Contempt of Congress proceedings for Holder appear to be on the immediate horizon if he continues failing to comply with the subpoena.
It’s unclear if Obama will end up directing Holder to give up the documents. White House spokesman Eric Schultz didn’t respond when The Daily Caller asked if Obama will continue to allow Holder to not comply with the subpoena even in Congress moves forward with contempt proceedings.
Cornyn’s fellow Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said last week that Holder can either comply with the subpoena from the House, or he can force Congress to fight the administration.
“The Attorney General is facing a real test of leadership here,” Grassley said. “He has a choice to make. He can force the department to come clean, or he can force a high-stakes political conflict between the legislative and executive branches. It’s past time to hold accountable those public officials responsible for our own government’s role in walking guns into the hands of criminals. The family of Agent Terry deserves more than what they’re getting from this administration.”