The Capitol Hill Report

Latest Votes from Congress 7-24-12

Holding Eric Holder in Criminal Contempt of Congress. -- On June 28, 2012, the House of Representatives passed a criminal contempt citation against Eric Holder by a 255-67 vote.  At issue was the Attorney General’s refusal to produce documents requested by House investigators as part of their investigation into Operation Fast & Furious -- where the Department of Justice allowed thousands of guns to be smuggled into Mexico in an effort to create the perceived “need” for additional gun restrictions.  Representatives have caught the Attorney General and other DoJ officials in various lies, while continuing to press Holder for tens of thousands of additional documents.  The Attorney General has continually refused to release these documents, and even asked the President to seal them through “executive privilege.”  A vote in favor of holding the Attorney General in criminal contempt of Congress is rated as a “+”.

Vote:  http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll441.xml

 

Holding Eric Holder in Civil Contempt of Congress. -- By a vote of 258-95, the U.S. House authorized lawmakers on June 28, 2012, to go into court and secure an order that would force the Obama administration to release documents that House investigators have been seeking as part of their investigation into Operation Fast & Furious.  As mentioned in the previous vote -- which relates to the criminal contempt citation -- Attorney General Eric Holder has made several misstatements to Congress and continued to stonewall their efforts to investigate who authorized Fast & Furious.  One pressing issue that was raised repeatedly during debate over this vote was the desire to know who in the Department of Justice authorized the February 2011 letter which contained several false declarations -- as well as, the internal discussions which led to that letter being retracted ten months later.  A vote in favor of moving civil contempt proceedings against the Attorney General is rated as a “+”.

Vote:  http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll442.xml

Fast and Furious Special Report

Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-1) provides details of committee vote to find Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.


Special Report: Gosar Votes to Bring Contampt Charges to Floor of Congress

Dear Friend,

Today the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which I am a proud member, moved forward with contempt charges against Attorney General Holder to find answers and obtain justice for the victims of the horrendous Operation Fast and Furious.


To view my opening statement from today, click above

The people of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas who deal with unsecured borders and violent Mexican cartels on a regular basis now must also live in fear of the Fast and Furious firearms. These citizens deserve for contempt charges to begin, because it was with contempt for their safety that this operation was carried out. To continue reading my opening statement from today's hearing, please click here.


AG Holder has stonewalled Congress for too long (photo from House Oversight)

After receiving a letter from Eric Holder, the president has claimed executive privilege over the documents and information that the House Oversight team has been after since last year. Yet despite this fact, the contempt proceedings moved forward after continuous delays by Holder and the Department of Justice to release subpoenaed documents relating to the gunrunning scheme that cost Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and hundreds of Mexicans their lives.

Terry Family Statement on the Executive Privilege

Terry family attorney Pat McGroder released the follow statement Wednesday from Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's parents, Josephine Terry and Kent Terry Sr.:

"The documents sought by the House Oversight Committee and associated with Operation Fast and Furious should be produced and turned over to the committee.  Our son lost his life protecting this nation, and it is very disappointing that we are now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind Operation Fast and Furious."

To continue reading the Terry Family statement click here.


Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry lost his life in Operation Fast and Furious. Image courtesy of  U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The American people and Congress have waited patiently for factual information from their Attorney General. Time is up. We are tired of the evasion. We are tired of the lies. We are tired of our elected officials and bureaucrats acting as if they are above the law.

Americans deserve answers.

Congress has the Constitutional responsibility and oversight to make sure that operations like Fast and Furious do not happen again. This is about making sure that future attorney generals do not act as if they are above our Constitution, above our law. We deserve accountability, transparency and justice from our leaders.


The Victims of Fast and Furious

Fact Checking the Critics:

Didn't President Bush start gun-walking with Operation Wide Receiver?

Fast and Furious and Operation Wide Receiver— which was run under the Bush Administration— are two fundamentally different programs. Wide Receiver involved far fewer firearms, was run with the knowledge and cooperation of the Mexican government, and made a serious attempt to track the weapons by even equipping some weapons with tracking devices. Most importantly, Operation Wide Receiver has not been linked to the death of a federal law enforcement officer.

Isn't Fast and Furious a Partisan Issue?

My response to this question has always been that no one will be checking the voter ID's of those impacted by this operation. This issue affects all Americans regardless of  their political views. It is not about partisan politics. This is about justice, accountability and transparency from the government for the people.

What Message Do You Want to Send?

No one is above the law.   

What Does the Executive Privilege Imply?

It certainly implies stonewalling, but furthermore President Obama's executive privilege makes me wonder what the administration is hiding, or how much more they really knew. The American public has always demanded the truth. We have always demanded accountability. The truth will come to light.

Special News Coverage from Today's Hearing

House panel recommends Holder contempt citation

House panel votes 23-17 to place Holder in contempt of Congress

On Fast and Furious, Obama invokes 'executive privilege.' What's that?

As always, you can follow everything I am working on in Arizona and Washington, D.C. through my website (http://gosar.house.gov) on Twitter @repgosar, or through Facebook at Representative Paul Gosar.

 

 

Sincerely,

Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S.
Member of Congress

 

briandarling

Are gun voters being taken for granted? Republicans control the House and self-styled pro-gun Democrats abound in the Senate. So why has neither chamber addressed any of the major gun rights issues awaiting resolution?

Numerous bills to restore and preserve Second Amendment rights to Americans have been filed, yet not one has been slated for a vote this year. John Velleco of Gun Owners of America (GOA) tells Townhall, “Every election year, the members of Congress come to pro-gun voters asking to be re-elected, yet we don’t have any pro-gun votes scheduled to come to the House and Senate floor.”

Read the Full Story at Townhall.com

Boehner

Freshmen Reps Push Boehner on Holder Citation

Six freshman members of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday called on GOP leadership to bring a contempt of Congress resolution against Attorney General Eric Holder to the House floor, charging he has “thwarted and obstructed” Congress’ efforts to conduct Congressional oversight of the "Operation Fast and Furious" gun-running program.

 

Read the Full Story at Roll Call

GOP leaders go slow on Eric Holder contempt vote

Hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt? Not so fast, says House Republican leadership.

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California have decided to slow Rep. Darrell Issa’s drive to hold the attorney general in contempt over the controversial Fast and Furious program, a move that could infuriate conservatives who have been calling for Holder’s resignation.

Read the Full Story at Politico

Nevada Sen. Dean HellerSenate Majority Leader Harry Reid just won’t take “no” for an answer when it comes to trampling the Second Amendment.

We reported to you about his judicial pick of Elissa Cadish for the federal District Court in Nevada.

You may remember that Cadish, when asked in 2008 by a group called Citizens for Responsible Government whether she believed an individual citizen had a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, answered:

I do not believe there is this constitutional right. Thus, I believe that reasonable restrictions may be imposed on gun ownership in the interest of public safety. Of course, I will enforce the laws as they exist as a judge.

Of course, Cadish’s very assertion that “restrictions ... on gun ownership [further] public safety” shows an intense anti-gun bias – and suggests that Cadish, once on the bench for life, will do everything possible to thwart gun owners’ rights.

As for the “enforce the laws” lingo, we’ve heard that before from other Obama nominees, including Sonia Sotomayor.  Like Cadish, Sotomayor also denied that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual, constitutional right. As soon as she had secured confirmation, she went on an anti-Second Amendment rampage on the Supreme Court.

Not content to ignore the Constitution, “ObamaCare Harry” Reid is now threatening to ignore the Senate rules as well – and to ignore Senator Dean Heller’s “blue slip” objection to the Cadish nomination.

Under Senate precedents and traditions, a Senator can veto a judicial nominee from his state by signing a piece of paper known as a “blue slip.” And Dean Heller has in fact “blue slipped” Cadish due to concerns over her strident anti-Second Amendment views.

But this week Reid announced his intention to meet with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) and to ask that he ignore the Senate rules and hold a hearing on the Cadish nomination – even after she has been blue slipped.

ACTION: Contact Senator Dean Heller. Thank him for holding firm in opposition to the nomination of anti-gun Elissa Cadish. Even if you live outside of Nevada, please email Sen. Heller at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Pre-written letter to cut-and-paste:

Dear Senator Heller,

Thank you for standing firm in your opposition to the nomination of anti-gun zealot Elissa Cadish to a judgeship on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada.

Rest assured that, should Harry Reid try to ignore the Senate’s rules, precedents, and traditions in order to push this ill-begotten nomination, America’s gun owners will demand that every Republican Senator vote as a bloc to protect the rights of the minority party – and to stand up for our Second Amendment rights as well.

Sincerely,

 

Senator Begich’s Lies Exposed!

Recently, Gun Owners of America alerted our Alaskan activists that their Senator, Mark Begich (D), was working behind the scenes to ensure that the overwhelming majority of Alaska’s citizens would not benefit from the reciprocity bill being considered by Congress.

After we alerted them to this, Senator Begich responded to our alerts by saying, “The information you received about my position on this bill is completely false.”

Well, guess what?

Senator Begich has just introduced his own reciprocity bill, S. 2188, and it confirms everything we had been warning about!

Plus, it shows that Senator Begich was lying to his constituents, hoping that they would never investigate the veracity of his claims.

But here are the facts:  Subsection (c)(2)(B) of Begich’s bill requires that anyone benefiting from carry reciprocity possess “a valid license or permit that ... permits the individual to carry a concealed firearm.”

In other words, the Begich bill will NOT protect Alaska non-permit holders -- who are the MAJORITY of Alaska’s law-abiding citizens.

In fact, the central difference between the Begich bill and the soon-to-be-introduced Thune-Vitter bill -- which Begich was trying to sabotage -- is this:

Law-abiding citizens in “Alaska Carry States” who refuse to jump through government hoops to get a permit would NOT be able to carry nationwide under the Begich bill, but they would be able to under the Thune-Vitter bill.

This is true, notwithstanding the fact that language which would protect BOTH PERMIT-HOLDERS AND NON-PERMIT HOLDERS got 58 votes in the Senate two years ago.  And because of the 2010 elections, the Thune-Vitter language now currently has at least 62 Senate votes -- a supermajority -- in favor of it.

More Articles...

Page 2 of 12

2