EXCLUSIVE – Rep. Pete Olson: Impeach Eric Holder

A glance at current headlines reveals that Central American children are flooding across our porous Southern border at an alarming rate, thanks to the Obama White House refusing to enforce existing immigration laws. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the federal agency in charge of collecting taxes from hard working Americans, is still under investigation (and refusing to cooperate) for targeting and harassing citizens based on their political beliefs. 

All of this happens while US Attorney General Eric Holder, the chief law enforcement officer in the United States, only enforces the laws that fit Obama’s agenda.

Thanks in large part to Obama’s Executive Orders that disregard current immigration laws, we have a cataclysmic crisis escalating along the Texas border that was created by this White House. Both the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and “Catch and Release” policies have encouraged a flood of undocumented immigrants.

Since Eric Holder won’t investigate a rogue IRS, House Republicans continue to demand answers on these scandals. None of the information we have uncovered is good, and, unfortunately, our questions remain unanswered. Last week we also discovered that U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was a target of the IRS, yet Holder still refuses to investigate.

In 2012, the House passed two separate Contempt of Congress resolutions against Holder, which passed with the support of 17 Democrats on one resolution and 14 on the other. Yet, Holder continues to disregard the Constitution by failing to enforce federal laws. My friend, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), is right when he says that if Holder refuses to investigate IRS targeting of conservative groups, we must move forward with impeachment proceedings.

For over five years, Mr. Holder has systematically deceived Congress and destroyed the credibility of the Justice Department in the eyes of the American people. Sadly, he continues to act in a manner unbefitting of a cabinet official. He has failed to perform his constitutional duties and violated the law on numerous occasions. The House of Representatives cannot stand by as he continues to undermine the office of Attorney General. He must be held accountable.

Refusing to cooperate with or investigate scandals like ‘Fast and Furious,’ failure to enforce current laws, the IRS scandal, possibly committing perjury in denying a role in a DOJ operation to confiscate emails from a reporter and his family, and the crisis that escalates daily on our southern border are all actions that clearly fall under “high crimes and misdemeanors.” These are offenses that the Constitution explicitly defines as grounds for removal of a Senate-confirmed cabinet official through impeachment. There are 27 cosponsors of H. Res. 411, my Articles of Impeachment against Holder. I continue to make the case to my colleagues for why its past time for the House to impeach Eric Holder and hold the Obama Administration to the standards set forth in the Constitution.

Mr. Holder has grossly undermined the authority and credibility of the Justice Department to the point that it can no longer be trusted by the American people to enforce the laws of the United States and uphold the US Constitution. As chief law enforcement officer for this country, Holder has failed to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed, and he does not represent the honor expected of a Cabinet official. The American people deserve answers and accountability. The time has come for the House to exercise our constitutional duty and impeach Attorney General Eric Holder.