In the wake of Attorney General Eric Holder’s agreement to testify on Operation Fast and Furious before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Dec. 8, the number of calls for his resignation has reportedly doubled.
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UPDATE: CBS News is now reporting that Holder will also appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next Tuesday, Nov. 8. Sen. Charles Grassley, who has been digging into Fast and Furious for the past ten months, is ranking member of that panel.
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Gun rights activists following Fast and Furious on at least two popular forums, WaGuns and Gun Rights Media, might reasonably wonder whether Holder will step down before his scheduled appearance. Odds are against it now, but if Fast and Furious drags into 2012 and becomes a political anchor on President Obama’s re-election bid, odds become more likely Holder will be discarded.
CBS News reported Holder’s agreement to appear before the Judiciary Committee, which may seem like an appearance before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, since Congressmen Darrell Issa, Trey Gowdy and Jason Chaffetz are on both committees.
Among those calling for Holder’s resignation, according to the Daily Caller, are:
Republican Reps. Dan Burton of Indiana, Allen West of Florida, Lynn Jenkins of Kansas, Trent Franks of Arizona, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, Mike Pompeo of Kansas, Duncan Hunter of California, Devin Nunes of California and Dennis Ross of Florida.
Meanwhile, Rep. Elijah Cummings, ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, wants Ken Melson, former acting director of the embattled Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to testify in public about Fast and Furious. He’s sent a letter to Issa, asserting that Melson is apparently willing to come forward.
With respect to our own Committee’s investigation, I do not believe it will be viewed as legitimate or credible—and I do not believe the public record will be complete—without public testimony from Kenneth Melson, who served as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).—Congressman Elijah Cummings
The drama picked up last week, as this column reported, when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified before the House Judiciary Committee.
Holder now has more than a month to prepare for his Judiciary appearance. In politics, a month can be an eternity.
DISCLAIMER
This column discovered early Monday that opponents of Initiative 1183, which would take the State of Washington out of the liquor business, had purchased advertising urging voters to oppose the measure. This column has taken no position on that initiative, and the advertisements should not be considered a reflection on how this column will vote on I-1183. (One might suggest that if, as the advertising indicates, Democrats oppose the measure, gun owners should vote for it, after reading this.)
Last year, one of the opponents of I-1100 and I-1105 was the operator of a liquor store in one of the Evergreen State’s rural counties. This same fellow used to write a column at a Lewiston, Idaho newspaper. It was in that column back in 2004 when he argued in favor of roadless areas and criticized hunting community opponents of such roadless areas thusly:
Most of the legions of people insisting on a driveway right up to Brutus-the-bull's living room simply have more invested in their beer bellies than their boots.
One might suggest irony has played a huge hand here, and that – if prognosticators are correct – karma is about to. Last year, in an op-ed piece that appeared in the on-line Seattle Post Intelligencer, he urged readers to vote against the liquor measures by asking them to not let Costco steal his job. Costco has spent several million dollars supporting the liquor initiatives.
If I-1183 is passed next Tuesday, this column can only suggest that Costco, which is headquartered in Issaquah, build a new store near this guy’s place.
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