◼ HOLDER: 'Nobody at DOJ lied' - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner
◼ 'Lying,' Holder Says, 'Has to Do With Your State of Mind' - Daniel Halper/Weekly Standard
◼ HOLDER COMPARES ISSA TO JOE MCCARTHY - Philip Klein/Washington Examiner
Fireworks broke out in Congress today, as Rep. Rep Darrell Issa, R-Calif., warned Attorney General Eric Holder that he could be held in contempt of Congress for his failure to cooperate with an investigation into the Fast and Furious program, in which the Obama administration allowed guns to "walk" into Mexico, where they ended up in the hands of Mexican drug lords.
The exchange, which occurred at the end of a House Judiciary committee hearing that lasted nearly seven hours including recesses, exploded as Issa compared Holder's stonewalling to the Nixon era and Holder responded by comparing Issa's tactics to Sen. Joe McCarthy's.
Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform committee that is investigating the Fast and Furious program, pressed Holder on whether he would comply with a subpoena request to release documents crucial to the probe. The California congressman noted that if Holder did not cooperate or give a good reason for not providing the documents, he risked being held in contempt of Congress.
Holder said he would consider the request, and respond as prior Attorneys General had.
Issa responded by comparing Holder to John Mitchell -- a reference to one of President Nixon's Attorneys General, who was implicated in the Watergate scandal.
Holder fired back by invoking the McCarthy-era line, "Have you no shame?"
To which Issa retorted, "Have YOU no shame?"
