House files suit against Holder, seeks records

WASHINGTON -- The Republican-run House asked a federal court yesterday to enforce a subpoena against Attorney General Eric Holder, demanding that he produce records on a bungled gun-tracking operation known as Fast and Furious.

The lawsuit asked the court to reject a claim by President Barack Obama asserting executive privilege, a legal position designed to protect certain internal administration communications from disclosure.

The failure of Holder and House Republicans to work out a deal on the documents led to votes in June that held the attorney general in civil and criminal contempt of Congress. The civil contempt resolution led to yesterday's lawsuit.

Holder refused requests by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hand over, without preconditions, documents that could explain why the Justice Department initially denied in February 2011 that a risky tactic was used to allow firearms to "walk" from Arizona to Mexico.

Federal agents lost track of many of the guns. The operation identified more than 2,000 illicitly purchased weapons, and some 1,400 of them have yet to be recovered. The department for 10 months failed to acknowledge its incorrect statement.

"Portentously, the [Justice] Department from the outset actively resisted cooperating fully with the committee's investigation," the lawsuit said.

"Among other things, the department initially declined to produce documents; later produced only very limited numbers of documents in piecemeal fashion; refused to make available to the committee certain witnesses; and limited the committee's questioning of other witnesses who were made available," the suit said.

The Justice Department previously said that it would not bring criminal charges against its boss. Democrats have labeled the civil and criminal contempt citations a political stunt.

In response to the lawsuit, Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said, "We were always willing to work with the committee. Instead the House and the committee have said they prefer to litigate."