Georgetown University professor Jonathan Turley said during Wednesday’s impeachment hearing that former President Barack Obama withheld information from Congress over the disastrous “Fast and Furious” program.
Operation Fast and Furious was a program of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, overseen by former Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice. Holder allowed thousands of guns to be sold to the Mexican drug cartels by people illegally trafficking firearms. It resulted in the death of a federal agent, among others.
Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, Turley was asked by ranking member Republican Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, if the House of Representatives is abusing its power “if we just say the facts don’t matter.” (RELATED: DOJ Releases ‘Fast And Furious’ Documents, Previously Blocked By Obama Admin, To Oversight Committee)
“I think so,” Turley responded. “Part of the problem is that to bring a couple of these Articles [of Impeachment], you have to contradict the position of President Obama. President Obama withheld evidence from Congress in “Fast and Furious,” an investigation, a rather moronic program that led to the death of a federal agent. President Obama gave a sweeping argument that he was not only not going to give evidence to this body but that a court had absolutely no role in determining whether he could withhold the evidence.”
After hearings before the House Intelligence Committee, led by its chairman, Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff, the impeachment inquiry has moved to the judiciary committee under Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler. (RELATED: Schiff Obtained Private Phone Records For Impeachment Report)
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Nadler opened Wednesday’s testimony by stating “The facts before us are undisputed,” in reference to the claim that Trump has committed impeachable offenses. The proceedings have been sharply polarized, not only because of the divide between Republicans and Democrats, but by the testimony of the witnesses. Stanford Law professor Pamela Karlan said Wednesday in her opening statement that she was “insulted” by Republican suggestions that she had not read all the impeachment testimony from previous witnesses.