The scandal surrounding Operation Fast and Furious continues to take center stage as the official deadline for turning over subpoenaed documents is today.
After a year of stonewalling by the Holder Justice Department and the refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, committee chairman Darrell Issa issued Holder an ultimatum last week. Holder must turn over the documents by today, Feb. 9, or face contempt of Congress charges.
But the question is, will Holder comply?
So far only 8% of the documents Issa says he needs to conduct his investigation have been provided to his committee by the Justice Department. Holder also has prevented some of his top lieutenants at Justice from testifying before Congress. Others have exercised their Fifth Amendment rights by refusing to answer any questions in order to avoid self-incrimination.
As for Holder himself, the Attorney-General testified last week before the Oversight Committee that he would consider Issa's request but that he is not inclined to turn over any more documents. If he follows through with that inclination, then the question becomes, will Issa follow through on his promise to hold Holder in contempt?
Inside sources who are familiar with the investigation have stated that Issa has been under pressure from House Speaker John Boehner to lay off Holder. If these sources are correct, then it is a reasonable assumption that Issa will not deliver the contempt charge against Holder.
Some sources have gone as far as to suggest that 'the fix is in,' which would guarantee that Holder and the White House would be able to save face by offering up lower level ATF officials as the sacrificial lambs.
However, other sources have indicated that despite pressure from the Obama Administration, particularly the FBI, Boehner has every intention of following through with the investigation in spite of the delays.
Part of the reason for the delays may be found in a statement issued by the Republican National Committee (RNC) just prior to Christmas, that Fast and Furious would become a major campaign tool against Obama in the run up to the 2012 Presidential election.
Thus, the delays may be purely strategic. Boehner may wish to wait until closer to the election to drop the bombshell on the Holder Justice Department, leaving little time for the Administration to concoct a credible defense in time for the election.
On the other hand, critics argue that such delays amount to a delay of justice, that if Issa 'has the goods' on Holder and other top Administration officials, then justice demands swift action.
This would appear to be a credible line of reasoning, given that even if Issa and Boehner allow Fast and Furious to explode into the headlines as early as today as a scandal of the centuries, the fallout will be so all pervasive that Congress and the courts will be still sorting out the facts in November when citizens go to the polls to elect a President.
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