One of the most heated exchanges of Attorney General Eric Holder’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday came thanks to questioning from Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who accused Holder of being “oblivious and disengaged” from guns “walking” during Operation Fast and Furious.
“Well, first off, the notion that I am somehow oblivious to this matter is totally belied by these inconvenient things called the facts,” Holder said.
“You took five days to go to the Caribbean, you didn’t have 15 minutes to call Secretary Clinton, Napolitano, talk to the president or your counterparts in Mexico?” Chaffetz injected.
Holder later told Chaffetz that he needs “to understand something about the way that Washington works” when it comes to matters under investigation.
The full exchange is embedded below. TPM’s preview of Thursday’s hearing is here.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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