FOXNews.com: Dems Break Rank to Back Holder Contempt

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Dems Break Rank to Back Holder Contempt Jun 27th 2012, 16:22 At least two Democrats have joined the ranks of Republicans planning to vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt over his refusal to turn over Operation Fast and Furious documents.  The Democrats who have taken that stance so far are both conservative-leaning lawmakers facing perilous political circumstances in their home districts. Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who is leading the charge on contempt, predicted to Fox News that up to 31 Democrats could be considering voting against Holder.  The latest Democrat to announce that stance is Rep. John Barrow, R-Ga.  "While Republicans and Democrats argue over the scope of the people's right to know what happened, the Attorney General has decided to withhold relevant documents," he said in a statement. "The only way to get to the bottom of what happened is for the Department of Justice to turn over the remaining documents, so that we can work together to ensure this tragedy never happens again." Utah Rep. Jim Matheson also circulated a statement announcing he would support the GOP-led vote.  "Sadly, it seems that it will take holding the attorney general in contempt to communicate that evasiveness is unacceptable," Matheson said.  He said the public, Congress and the family of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry -- whose murder scene included weapons from the botched anti-gunrunning operation -- "deserve answers."  The announcement would seem to back up Issa's claim over the weekend on "Fox News Sunday" that the vote will be "bipartisan." Issa acknowledges many Democratic lawmakers will face considerable pressure on Thursday to support Holder.  It appears that vote is going forward. House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday that "we are going to proceed" -- despite a last-ditch attempt by Obama administration officials on Tuesday to work out a deal.  A source familiar with those talks told Fox News that the Republicans met with administration officials twice Tuesday -- at the Justice Department and at the White House. The Justice Department showed GOP staff 14 documents on the failed anti-gunrunning operation, totaling about 30 pages.  Republicans apparently thought the offer was not good enough.  But the move prompted criticism from the White House.  "This was a good faith effort to resolve this while still protecting the institutional prerogatives of the Executive Branch, often championed by these same Republicans criticizing us right now," said White House spokesman Eric Schultz. "Unfortunately Republicans have opted for political theater rather than conduct legitimate Congressional oversight."  The House Rules Committee will tee up a Thursday floor vote on contempt by taking up two related contempt resolutions on Wednesday afternoon.  Republicans have accused the Justice Department of stonewalling all along, and claim the contempt vote is a last-resort move to extract documents about the operation -- specifically documents from February 2011 and beyond that speak to why the administration might have initially claimed it did not allow guns to "walk" across the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration later retracted that claim.  Matheson's decision to support contempt could reflect his vulnerable political circumstances. He is the only Democrat from Utah in Congress, and is facing a tough reelection this fall after redistricting in the state.

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