Attorney General Eric Holder may face vote of contempt if documents not surrendered

Unites States Attorney General Eric Holder could face a contempt measure on Wednesday from the House Oversight Committee unless he provides at least some of the documents the committee has sought in relation to Operation Fast and Furious, a failed federal firearms sting operation that permitted weapons to reach Mexican drug cartels. On Tuesday, a meeting between the Attorney General and committee chairman Representative Darrell Issa, California Republican, failed to resolve their dispute.

After the meeting, Issa told reporters, “We are disappointed. We never expected to get all the documents. Our hope was and still is that later this evening we’ll get the documents.” Holder said he offered to provide appropriate documents to Issa on the condition that Issa provided his assertion that doing so would gratify two committee subpoenas and resolve the dispute. “I think the ball’s in their court. They rejected what I thought was an extraordinary offer on our part,” Holder told reporters. “I think we actually are involved more in political gamesmanship,” he said when asked whether Issa was willing to resolving the matter before the committee meets on Wednesday.