The House Oversight Committee has delayed its hearing with Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz in which the watchdog was expected to discuss his still-pending report on Operation Fast and Furious.
The hearing, initially scheduled for tomorrow, has been pushed to next Wednesday, Sept. 19, according to an announcement by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Issa said Horowitz has confirmed he will attend next week’s hearing before the House committee.
Issa did not explain the delay in his announcement on Monday, but other media said that Horowitz had not yet finalized the report.
Issa said Horowitz had finished his report about two weeks ago and was circulating a draft to involved parties for questions and feedback. The Republican-led committee has been conducting a controversial investigation of the botched gun-walking operation over the past 18 months. The operation, headed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, aimed to trace guns sold to strawbuyers in the United States to high-level Mexican drug cartel members. ATF lost track of hundreds of guns, however, and two were found at the scene of a shootout between U.S. Border Patrol Agents and Mexican bandits. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in the firefight in 2010.
Lawmakers from both parties have been waiting for Horowitz’s conclusions, in a probe that was begun under acting IG Cynthia Schnedar in 2011. Attorney General Eric Holder has said he will not take any corrective action within the department until he receives the IG report.
