Congress Subpoenas Holder, Justice Department

Congress has put new pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder and his justice department over a botched gun smuggling sting operation in Arizona.

According to CNN.com, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has subpoenaed Holder for his communications with several top Justice Department officials regarding the operation known as "Fast and Furious."

During that operation, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms facilitated the illegal sale of high-powered assault weapons to Mexican arms dealers in Arizona. The plan was to then track these weapons into Mexico and to Mexican drug lords, their final destination.

CNN reports that those weapons were then used in crimes in the United States, including the murder of a border patrol agent in Arizona in December 2010.

Holder denies knowing intricacies of sting operation

The New York Post reports that Congress is looking into what Holder and his associates knew of the operation and when they knew.

Holder said he will comply with all congressional requests and stands by his congressional testimony that he only knew of the operation for several weeks.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told the Post that Holder and top Justice Department Officials "know more about Operation 'Fast and Furious' than they have publicly acknowledged."

According to FoxNews.com, memos relating to the operation did surface inside Holder's office sometime in March, but neither Holder nor any of his top aides were directly involved. The emails obtained by the subpoena reveal little information on the high profile officials involved.

FoxNews.com reports that Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, has called the congressional investigation a "gross abuse of the Committee's authority" and "a political stunt."

Obama administration responds to accusations

Holder said that while will cooperate with any investigations, "this subpoena shows that Chairman Issa is more interested in generating headlines than in real oversight important to the American people," according to The Los Angeles Times.

The Times also reports that President Obama has defended Holder, telling reporters last week that neither the White House nor Holder knew of the illegal gun sale operation.

Thumbnail photo by ryanjreilly.