House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder last week, asking him to appear before the committee to testify again about Operation Fast and Furious.
In the letter, dated Dec. 15, Issa requests Holder appear before the committee on Jan. 24, 2012, with six possible alternate dates. The letter asks Holder to respond by Jan. 3.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)
“The hearing will examine flaws in the management structure of the Justice Department as demonstrated in the genesis and implementation of ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious,” the letter states. “Specifically, the hearing will focus on what senior Department officials could and should have done to put a stop to this reckless program, as well as the specific areas where failures in communication and management occurred.”
Holder testified before the House Judiciary Committee in a combative hearing earlier this month, defending the Justice Department from “politically motivated ‘gotcha games.’ ” The failed operation has led to criticism and several calls for the resignation or firing of top department officials, including Holder.
The gun-walking operation, known as Fast and Furious, allowed straw-buyers to purchase hundreds of guns so members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could track the weapons across the Mexican border and pinpoint criminals.
