Civil and Human Rights Coalition Condemns Effort to Hold General Holder in Contempt of Congress

Washington, D.C. – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the statement below following the announcement of an unwarranted hearing of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to consider Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress:

“Chairman Issa and Speaker Boehner are committing a serious disservice to the House and to the American people in seeking to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. The record doesn’t support the extreme nature of this political maneuver. It’s a detour from the real business of the House and a highly questionable use of congressional authority.

General Holder has testified before Congress eight times in the gun walking investigation. He has complied with the chairman’s investigation by submitting more than 7,000 pages of documents and making several senior Department of Justice officials available for testimony, interviews, and briefings. Additional documents the committee wants have been denied to avoid compromising ongoing federal investigations into gun traffickers – standard operating procedure for the Justice Department under any administration.

General Holder has proven to be one of the administration’s champions for Congress and the American people. He has zealously defended the federal role in immigration from state overreach, ensured that the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting rights laws are followed in federal elections, and worked with state attorneys general from all fifty states, representing both Republicans and Democrats, to protect homeowners who were victims of predatory lending. These issues impact the daily lives of millions of Americans and are of pressing importance. We urge the House to reject this transparently political action.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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