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Home Front: WoT
Project Gunwalker: Issa Blinks on Holder's Deadline, to No Date
2012-02-13
For nearly a year now, House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R=CA) and Attorney General Eric Holder have locked horns over Operation Fast and Furious. Throughout this time we have seen heated exchanges between the two during Congressional hearings, watched the DOJÂ’s narrative change more than once, and wondered why Holder has thus far been allowed to dictate the speed at which the committee can investigate him.

As of late, when Holder dug in and simply refused to the turn over the documents the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed, the contest between he and Issa turned into nothing less than a battle of wills. And Issa upped the ante when he drew a line in the sand and gave Holder until 5 pm on February 9th to comply with the subpoenas or face charges of contempt of congress.

And so they squared off, and for any of you who wondered which man would blink first the answer has been revealed—Issa blinked, and gave Holder & Co. a time extension for turning over the documents.

Keep in mind, that throughout the time the back and forth has been taking place, the DOJ has given the House Oversight Committee just 6,000 documents, but theyÂ’ve provided their internal IG with 80,000 plus. The bottom line: time hasnÂ’t been the issue, rather, the refusal to comply has. Nevertheless, Issa has given in and provided Holder with more time anyway.

And to make matters worse, as of today the extension has no time limit on it.

So as it stands, Holder has from now till the cows come home to play it his way.
Posted by:Sherry

#11  Testing...
Posted by: Ralphs son Johnnie   2012-02-13 22:41  

#10  Rambler: IAAL, and correct, that's the separate sovereigns doctrine. The protection against double jeopardy is actually quite narrow. It doesn't come into play at all unless and until an accused has been acquitted, and then only within the same "sovereign" (state or federal). It has zero applicability with respect to foreign jurisdictions and extradition treaties.

Doesn't matter what happens to Holder in the US. I hope the Mexican government hires Dog Chapman to drag his ass to trial in a country with a lot more experience meting out his brand of "justice."
Posted by: RandomJD   2012-02-13 21:51  

#9  As for the double jeopardy issue, it seems to me that there is the concept of separate sovereigns. For example, the cops in Rodney King case were acquitted on state charges, but retried in federal court. Since the state and the federal government are separate sovereigns, it was not considered double jeopardy. So it would seem to me that if Holder is tried and acquitted in the US, he could still be tried in Mexico.

IANAL. Your mileage may vary.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2012-02-13 21:09  

#8  Give Issa some credit. He'll do what he can, when he can, as powerfully as possible. He's no dummy, and no lapdog for Obama/Holder
Posted by: Frank G   2012-02-13 20:31  

#7  One important thing. While impeachment and conviction takes both houses, citations for contempt of congress only take place in one house.

First the committee votes, then the house or senate votes. Then, if the contempt citation rises to the level of a criminal act, it is forwarded by that body to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

Since in this case it would be an obvious conflict of interest, the House would have to create a special prosecutor by authorizing a federal judge to appoint him.

Importantly, the president *cannot* pardon someone cited for contempt of congress.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2012-02-13 19:58  

#6  I'd trade Holder for a good bottle of mescal, or an Elvis painting on black velvet....even the fat Elvis
Posted by: Frank G   2012-02-13 19:03  

#5  Though a trade-in-kind in exchange for some cartel bosses for prosecution here might be worked out.
Heck - I'll be willing to trade Holder for a jaywalker to to named later!
Posted by: CrazyFool   2012-02-13 18:20  

#4  ...just remember that timely due process enjoyed in America has no counterpart in other places of the world, like Mexico. Delay all you want, it just moves the future venue to another jurisdiction. Holders best protection is to hope that a conviction in the US that is not pardoned is good enough to appeal for protect from extradition under the double jeopardy proviso of the Constitution [of course being a living breathing document, that might not apply]. Though a trade-in-kind in exchange for some cartel bosses for prosecution here might be worked out.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2012-02-13 18:11  

#3  Got to agree with Nimble on this one.....
Posted by: Sherry   2012-02-13 17:20  

#2  Issa won't bring this to a head until the trunk nominee is decided. Then he'll do everything possible to make it a general election issue.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2012-02-13 16:32  

#1  Issa doesn't have the votes in the Senate for contempt of congress. The donks will circle the wagons and that'll be the end of it. Unless, of course, Issa finds some other way to prove that Holder was involved. What would the cops do? Start with the little fish and work their way up the food chain, right? Or do I watch too much TV?
Posted by: Chesney Spusoth9331   2012-02-13 16:21  

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