Republican Reps. Jeff Landry of Louisiana and Alan Nunnelee of Mississippi both told The Daily Caller on Thursday that they think Attorney General Eric Holder should resign immediately over Operation Fast and Furious. When combined Louisianna Rep. Charles Boustany’s call Thursday morning, that makes 46 congressmen who are demanding that Holder step aside now.
“The Fast and Furious operation was responsible for the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and much criminal activity in the U.S. and Mexico,” Landry told TheDC. “The American people deserve answers and accountability —Attorney General Holder has to go.”
In his statement demanding Holder’s resignation, Nunnelee pointed out how thinks Holder has misled Congress and the American people.
“It has become apparent that the attorney general is simply not being honest with the American people or Congress,” Nunnelee said in an email to TheDC. “His admission last week in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he misled Congress in previous hearings was the final straw for me. He has repeatedly changed his story and stonewalled congressional investigators’ efforts to get to the truth. The American people deserve better from its top law enforcement official.”
A recent surge in those calling for Holder’s immediate resignation can likely be attributed to a number of factors. First, Rep. Paul Gosar of Texas, the third congressman to demand Holder step down, held a press conference on Tuesday to amplify calls for Holder’s resignation. Second, Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois is currently circulating a letter on Capitol Hill asking for Holder to resign or for President Barack Obama to fire him.
The Walsh letter, addressed to Obama, urges him to “hold attorney general Eric Holder accountable for Operation Fast and Furious” and “ask for his immediate resignation.”
“In intentionally letting over 2,000 firearms ‘walk’ across the border into Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) — under the leadership of Attorney General Holder — carried out an operation that left a U.S. Border Patrol agent dead, broke federal law, and attempted to build a case for gun control,” the Walsh letter to Obama said. “Operation Fast and Furious has proved to be one of the most serious errors in judgment carried out in recent history by a federal agency.”
“Now, the attorney general has attempted to cover his own tracks and has been unwilling to cooperate in the ongoing congressional investigation,” the letter continued. “In the recent hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Holder even admitted to misstating when he first learned of the operation.”
The members of Congress demanding Holder’s immediate resignation say that Holder either lied during a May 3 House Judiciary Committee hearing and in other dealings with Congress, or is blatantly incompetent as the attorney general of the United States of America.
“No matter what the case is, he must be held responsible for knowing and overseeing a department that executed Operation Fast and Furious. You even admitted last month that you were upset that ‘somebody showed such bad judgment that they would allow something like that to happen’ — and you vowed to ‘find out who and what happened in this situation,’” Walsh’s letter to Obama continued. “We ask you to fulfill this promise to the American people because, like you, they are upset and deserve answers. They also deserve accountability on behalf of their federal officials, especially those who are unelected like Holder.”
The White House and the Department of Justice have continued ignoring the surge in calls for Holder’s immediate resignation. Many of those who’ve called for Holder to step down have also indicated they believe President Obama is “complicit” in the Fast and Furious scandal if he does not answer their calls and won’t take action on this front.
Holder is currently on a junket trip in the Caribbean, and according to the left-leaning Daily Beast, is staying at “upscale hotels in each of the three countries [Barbados, Trinidad and the Dominican Republic] — all nations with high poverty rates.”
