Issa Bypasses Holder to Gain Information About Fast and Furious

An anonymous source has enabled Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., to bypass Attorney General Eric Holder in gaining information on the Justice Department’s Fast and Furious operation that Holder has been reluctant to provide.

Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, says the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been withholding documents. But the anonymous source has provided Issa with information about the operation that is under a federal court-ordered seal, The Hill reports.

Fast and Furious allowed U.S. weapons to go to Mexican criminals with the idea that U.S. law enforcement officials would be able to track the guns back to drug kingpins. Instead, the weapons were found at the murder site of a U.S. border patrol agent,

For months Issa has asked the DOJ for the documents he has received from the source — wiretap applications the department used in Fast and Furious. He has started the process toward a contempt-of-Congress citation against Holder, and the new information may help Issa gain Republican backers.