On Thursday, Arizona Congressman Paul A. Gosar, issued a “Dear Colleague” letter to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, in which he urged them to cosponsor his resolution, H.Res.35, which expresses no confidence in the attorney general and calls for his resignation. The resolution currently has 137 cosponsors in the House of Representatives.
In a 70-page report, released Wednesday, on the Justice Department’s leak investigations, the House Judiciary Committee formally accused the Attorney General of misleading Congress when he said that he knew nothing of the “potential prosecution” of the press.
In his letter, Gosar writes that the “only thing missing from that report was one specific word. Perjury.”
“Make no mistake: I do not take this word lightly, nor do I make this assertion whimsically,” Gosar writes. “But the Attorney General of the United States, who is our chief law enforcement officer, has once again proven to be “deceptive and misleading” in testimony before this Congress. Are we just so used to it now that we do not qualify such actions as perjury?”
In an earlier statement Gosar said that Holder’s violations of the law are “egregious and he should not be immune from the prosecution or given license to act without restraint. An ordinary citizen would go to jail for selling guns to Mexican drug cartels. An ordinary citizen would go to jail for secretly obtaining phone records and emails. An ordinary citizen would go to jail for lying to Congress about an investigation. Gosar asked, “What would happen to an ordinary citizen for lying to a judge? This is just a small part of what Attorney General Eric Holder is responsible for.”
Below is the text of the Dear Colleague letter, signed by Rep. Gosar and delivered to Republican and Democrat offices.
August 1, 2013
Dear Colleague,
The House Judiciary Committee released a report last night detailing its findings on various subjects involving Attorney General Holder and his Justice Department. Among those subjects, the report outlined the numerous ways in which Mr. Holder gave “deceptive and misleading” statements to the Committee through testimony and written letters.
I truly appreciate the diligent efforts made by the Committee—they were very thorough and precise and put forth excellent, fact-based assertions. The only thing missing from that report was one specific word.
Perjury.
Make no mistake: I do not take this word lightly, nor do I make this assertion whimsically. But the Attorney General of the United States, who is our chief law enforcement officer, has once again proven to be “deceptive and misleading” in testimony before this Congress. Are we just so used to it now that we do not qualify such actions as perjury?
Operation Fast and Furious. AP Probe. James Rosen. Perjury. The list goes on and on. Even polls conducted earlier this spring by a Democratic-leaning firm demonstrate that only 23% of Americans approve of the way in which Mr. Holder is handling his job as Attorney General. I was amazed at those numbers—not that they were so low, but that they were so high given the context of this ongoing stream of scandals. What other reasons do we need to make a concerted push to have Mr. Holder removed from office?
Ask yourself one question: if you were an average working person (non-government), and Congress or the FBI was asking you questions related to an investigation, and it was proven that you gave an answer that was something other than the truth, do you honestly believe that you would be able to avoid perjury charges?
The time is now for this sickening double-standard to end. Not next year. Not after the courts rule on Mr. Holder’s contempt charges. Not after August Recess. But right now.
Please cosponsor my resolution, H.Res.35, which expresses no confidence in the attorney general and calls for his immediate resignation. Let your constituents know that you signed on and that you will not tolerate these actions. The American public cannot take one more day of this shoddy, flippant, and blatantly criminal behavior from the chief law enforcement officer of this nation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Paul A. Gosar
Member of Congress