Barack Obama is poised to become the first US president to have his attorney general held in contempt of Congress on Thursday, as Republicans seek to tarnish him over a botched gun-running sting operation.
Congressmen have 'exhausted all
available options' and the failure of Mr Holder's department to fully
comply with their demands 'is inexcusable and cannot stand,' according
to the Republicans' motion.
Congressmen are to vote on whether Eric Holder, who heads Mr Obama's justice
department, is guilty of contempt for refusing to hand over documents
relating to the so-called "Fast and Furious" scandal.
It saw US officials funnel thousands of firearms to gunrunners for Mexican
drug cartels, in a failed attempt to track them back to top gangsters.
More than 1,000 guns went missing and one was later found close to where a US
border agent, Brian Terry, was found shot dead in December 2010.
Republicans are demanding to know why Mr Obama's administration initially
claimed that senior officials only learned about the operation later, before
subsequently withdrawing the statement.
After disclosing more than 7,000 pages of documents, Mr Obama last week
invoked executive privilege for the first time in order to keep internal
deliberations secret, prompting allegations of a cover-up.
Confirming that a last-ditch effort by White House lawyers to placate their
opponents had failed, John Boehner, the Republican house speaker, said on
Wednesday that he and his colleagues would "do our jobs".
"Brian Terry's family has a right to know what happened, the American people have a right to know what happened, and we are going to proceed," said Mr Boehner.
Congressmen have "exhausted all available options" and the failure of Mr Holder's department to fully comply with their demands "is inexcusable and cannot stand," according to the Republicans' motion.
The vote by the entire Republican-controlled House, which was triggered by the vote of a congressional committee last week, is likely to remain symbolic.
If Mr Holder is held in contempt, a criminal prosecution may be brought by the US Attorney for Washington DC – who works for Mr Holder.
However, a related second vote could authorise the House to sue Mr Holder in the civil courts in order to obtain a subpoena that would compel the Obama administration to release the documents in question.
Congressmen have come under intense pressure to back the contempt vote from the National Rifle Association (NRA), the immensely powerful pro-gun rights lobbying group, which claims that the sting operation was part of a secret grand scheme by Mr Obama to introduce new gun control laws.
"This thing needs to be stamped out hard like a small fire in the forest before it turns into a raging forest fire," Wayne LaPierre, the NRA chief executive, has said of Fast and Furious.
The NRA, which rates congressmen on their pro-gun credentials, has warned those opposing the contempt motion and facing re-election in November to be ready for the group to endorse their opponent.
As many as 31 congressmen from Mr Obama's own Democratic party, many of them representing conservative-leaning states and facing perilous re-election battles, are set to support the contempt vote.
"Sadly, it seems that it will take holding the attorney general in contempt to communicate that evasiveness is unacceptable," said Jim Matheson, the only Democrat to represent Utah.
Mr Holder has dismissed the move as "an election-year tactic" and "an extraordinary, unprecedented and entirely unnecessary action, intended to provoke an avoidable conflict" between the Obama administration and Congress.
A White House spokesman said that senior Republicans had "opted for political theatre rather than conduct legitimate Congressional oversight".
Deliberations on the contempt vote are due to take place just two hours after the US Supreme Court delivers its ruling on the constitutionality of Mr Obama's signature health care overhaul.
A disappointing verdict at the Court being followed by an unprecedented chiding of his top law enforcement official would amount to Mr Obama's worst day since taking office in January 2009.
"Brian Terry's family has a right to know what happened, the American people have a right to know what happened, and we are going to proceed," said Mr Boehner.
Congressmen have "exhausted all available options" and the failure of Mr Holder's department to fully comply with their demands "is inexcusable and cannot stand," according to the Republicans' motion.
The vote by the entire Republican-controlled House, which was triggered by the vote of a congressional committee last week, is likely to remain symbolic.
If Mr Holder is held in contempt, a criminal prosecution may be brought by the US Attorney for Washington DC – who works for Mr Holder.
However, a related second vote could authorise the House to sue Mr Holder in the civil courts in order to obtain a subpoena that would compel the Obama administration to release the documents in question.
Congressmen have come under intense pressure to back the contempt vote from the National Rifle Association (NRA), the immensely powerful pro-gun rights lobbying group, which claims that the sting operation was part of a secret grand scheme by Mr Obama to introduce new gun control laws.
"This thing needs to be stamped out hard like a small fire in the forest before it turns into a raging forest fire," Wayne LaPierre, the NRA chief executive, has said of Fast and Furious.
The NRA, which rates congressmen on their pro-gun credentials, has warned those opposing the contempt motion and facing re-election in November to be ready for the group to endorse their opponent.
As many as 31 congressmen from Mr Obama's own Democratic party, many of them representing conservative-leaning states and facing perilous re-election battles, are set to support the contempt vote.
"Sadly, it seems that it will take holding the attorney general in contempt to communicate that evasiveness is unacceptable," said Jim Matheson, the only Democrat to represent Utah.
Mr Holder has dismissed the move as "an election-year tactic" and "an extraordinary, unprecedented and entirely unnecessary action, intended to provoke an avoidable conflict" between the Obama administration and Congress.
A White House spokesman said that senior Republicans had "opted for political theatre rather than conduct legitimate Congressional oversight".
Deliberations on the contempt vote are due to take place just two hours after the US Supreme Court delivers its ruling on the constitutionality of Mr Obama's signature health care overhaul.
A disappointing verdict at the Court being followed by an unprecedented chiding of his top law enforcement official would amount to Mr Obama's worst day since taking office in January 2009.
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