PoliticsPA: Kelly Takes Loud Role in Holder Contempt Vote

Press Release

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Butler) has taken a prominent role in the push to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for withholding information to Congress on the failed Fast and Furious Operation. He's gone on Fox News and done a number of other press hits to highlight the issue.

Operation Fast and Furious, a gun-running program that allowed the deliberate sale of marked weapons to criminals in an attempt to gain access to higher ranking drug lords in Mexico, was the subject of much scorn and scrutiny after multiple deaths in both Mexico and the United States. Most notable of which was U.S Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Holder and the Administration have come under fire for their lack of transparency in this issue, notably, failing to provide documents to Congress that would clear the air about the death of Brian Terry and the hundreds of others by the marked weapons.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted yesterday 23 to 17 along party lines to hold Holder in contempt. The full House will vote next week. However, of the 23 Republicans who voted, few have been as vocal on the issue as Kelly.

"Attorney General Eric Holder's refusal to cooperate with Congress has left us with no choice but to hold him in contempt of Congress," said Kelly in a statement. "Mr. Holder's decision to deny Congress access to documents that would reveal to the American people the truth behind U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder and the hundreds of other lives that were lost as a result of Operation Fast and Furious was his choice, not ours."

In taking this loud role, Kelly called for the vote to hold Holder into Contempt of Congress, grilled the Attorney General while he took the stand, addressed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and made a public appearance on Fox News to discuss this issue in a panel discussion with Sean Hannity.

He's been doing TV appearances and other press hits on the issue for over a year.

Two other Pennsylvania Republicans, Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Delaware) and Rep. Todd Platts (R-York), also voted to hold Holder in contempt. No PA Dems serve on the committee.

"What we are seeking is justice for Border Agent Brian Terry, slain with a Fast and Furious weapon. The Terry family and the public deserve to know who knew what and when did they know it," said Meehan in a statement.

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