Issa: Produce Documents or Be Held in Contempt

Temecula’s congressman threatened to start contempt proceedings on a federal official for failing to hand over documents.

Darrell Issa, R-Vista, made the threat against Kenneth E. Melson, the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaccoo, Firearms and Explosives, in a letter sent Wednesday. Click here to read the letter.

Issa subpoenaed documents on March 31 he believes will show who is to blame for a botched gun smuggling bust that leaked about 1,700 guns into Mexico. To read the resolution to hold Melson in contempt, click here.

Issa is the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which is charged with policing government abuses.

“We are asking for documents that relate to decisions such officials made. Congress is legally entitled to all of these documents,” Issa wrote in a letter to Melson.

The letter included several documents Issa’s committee got elsewhere indicating the Justice Department knew the danger the operation created.  The role of top Justice Department officials in approving the operation remains top concern for investigators, Issa said in an emailed statement.

The sting had agents leaking weapons from Arizona gun shops to buyers working for the Mexican gun cartel. Agents hoped to intercept the weapons at the border, but many got through, according to reports.