House oversight committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa announced on Monday that a Tuesday hearing at which Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz was set to testify about his forthcoming Operation Fast and Furious report has been rescheduled until next week.
The hearing is now scheduled for Sept. 19. “Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has confirmed his attendance for the September 19th hearing where he will discuss his report of the investigation into reckless conduct in Operation Fast and Furious,” a press release on the House oversight committee’s website reads.
Horowitz was initially scheduled to testify on Tuesday, Sept. 11. But, according to the Los Angeles Times, Horowitz wrote back to Issa saying his report may not be done in time for the Tuesday hearing.
“In a letter to Capitol Hill, Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said his investigators now must pore over wiretap records, grand jury material and sealed court records to make sure nothing that should not be disclosed is inadvertently included in the final report,” the Los Angeles Times’ Richard Serrano wrote.
Horowitz told Issa that, because of those “legal restrictions, we cannot release the report or discuss its conclusions until the issues arising from this sensitivity review have been resolved.”
In a release announcing the originally-scheduled hearing, Issa said that the coming report on Fast and Furious means President Barack Obama’s and Attorney General Eric Holder’s “excuse for delaying action ends.”
“For a year and a half, Attorney General Eric Holder has cited the ongoing inspector general investigation as his reason for declining to hold those responsible for reckless conduct in Operation Fast and Furious to account,” Issa said.