Rahall to join GOP in contempt vote

UPDATED:

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 255-67 to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

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Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., will join House Republicans in voting to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt.

Holder has refused to hand over documents related to Fast and Furious, a Department of Justice gun-running operation. Amid calls for Holder to step down, members of the U.S. House of Representatives are expected to vote today whether to hold the attorney general in contempt.

Rahall said members of the administration should be expected to uphold the Constitution and ensure government answers to the people.

"The?Congress has a Constitutional responsibility to ensure that our government ? whether controlled by a Republican or Democratic administration ? answers to the people," Rahall said in a statement.?"This matter should never have come to the point that the Congress would be considering the question of contempt on the part of a member of the Executive Branch. ?But, as with most messes, the sooner we clean it up, the better.? This has gone on way too long over two administrations.? We need to move on."

Fast and Furious was a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms mission conducted between 2009 and 2011. It was intended to stem the flow of firearms between the U.S. and Mexico by intercepting "straw purchasers" and gun traffickers in the United States.

On Dec. 14, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed while on patrol 11 miles from the Mexican border. The AK-pattern rifles found after the killing were traced to Fast and Furious, though the bullet that killed Terry was traced to another weapon that was not linked to the operation.

Congress began an investigation into "gunwalking" operations such as Fast and Furious in January 2011. On May 3, ?2011, Holder testified to the House Judiciary Committee that he did not know who signed off on Fast and Furious, but that it was being investigated.

Holder appeared in his seventh Congressional period June 7 and continued to deny knowledge of Fast and Furious. By that time, the Justice Department had turned over more than 7,000 pages of documents. But the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted June 20 to recommend that Holder be held in contempt. At issue were 1,300 pages of documents that the Department of Justice had not been turned over to the committee.

The contempt vote is expected today.

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