It's Time for Holder to Resign

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been a distraction to the administration and a liability to the nation since he took his place as the top attorney in the nation in 2009. While his sheer partisanship has been irksome to Republicans for some time, after his role in misleading Congress about his knowledge of the ‘Fast and Furious' operation, the time has come for Holder to step down. When American lives are being compromised as a direct result of a failed operation, and the Attorney General, who received at least two separate memos detailing the plans, takes no accountability, there is a problem. Today, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, California's Darrell Issa, subpoenaed Holder and other Justice Department officials regarding their knowledge of the ATF operation. In previous statements, Holder claims he first learned of Fast and Furious in May 2011, yet there is record of memos he received as early as July 2010 detailing the program. Why is there a discrepancy between his testimony, and what appears to be the truth? From a concerned citizen's point of view, Holder seems to be in well over his head. Unfortunately this is not the first time his actions and commitment to law and order have come into question. After Arizona passed SB 1070, the immigration law that drew national headlines, Holder made reactionary remarks and threatened suit by the United States Federal Government. This all before it was made public that he had not even read the sixteen page piece of legislation. Had Holder read the law, maybe he would have realized that the entire body of the bill comes directly from U.S. Code, which gives enforcement officers the right to identify illegal aliens and report them to the appropriate agencies for deportation.The American People should not be surprised by the latest actions by our Attorney General, but that does not mean we should simply accept his lack of personal accountability. Earlier in the week, Idaho Congressman Raúl Labrador, an immigration attorney who is one of the House's experts on the issue, and vice-chairman of the subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations called for Holder's resignation. Labrador stated that “the recently published documents that directly link Mr. Holder to Fast and Furious have convinced me that he is either lying or grossly incompetent.” And continued by declaring that “It is clear he has not been honest about the extent of his involvement with the failed Fast and Furious program and should not be entrusted with managing the Department of Justice.“Allowing Holder to continue to serve in this administration is a disservice to fair and transparent government and therefore a disservice to the American People. Time and time again he has taken steps to arbitrarily strengthen his own position, without regard to the overall affect of his actions. Intentionally misleading the Legislature, which potentially puts American lives in harms way, is an offense that cannot be ignored or swept under the rug. The time for Eric Holder to be permanently relieved of his duties as United States Attorney General is now.