In case you missed it, Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) had the following exchange with Eric Holder last week during the Judiciary Committees grilling of the Attorney General over the Fast & Furious gun running scandal.
Numerous Justice Department officials have been implicated in lying about the Fast & Furious scandal, including the Attorney General himself. And, yet, the AG explains to Sensenbrenner that nobody lied because "lying" is dependent on one's "state of mind."
Had only generations of kids thought to try that defense with their mothers! "Honest, mom, I didn't lie, because I wasn't in a lying state of mind."
Sensenbrenner references the highly unusual withdrawal by the Justice Department of a Feb. 4 letter to Sen. Charles Grassley because of "inaccuracies" about the F&F operation. For background we refer you to our December 3 posting about the DOJ cover-up and go here for additional detailed articles.
Clearly frustrated with Holder's obfiscation, Sensenbrenner bluntly warned Holder that Congress wanted answers. “The thing is, if we don’t get to the bottom of this — and that requires your assistance on that — there is only alternative that Congress has and it is called impeachment, where our subpoena powers are plenary and there can‘t be any type of legal immunity or privilege that can be asserted on that.”
Considering the source, that is far from a casual threat, as Sensenbrenner has served as House Manager of more impeachment trials than any Member in history. On four occasions in his 33 years in Congress, he has served as the House Manager of Impeachment trials including three federal judges and President Clinton. Sensenbrenner is also a former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee.