Holder Explodes at Louie Gohmert: 'You Don't Want to Go There, Buddy'

During a House Judiciary Committee Hearing on Tuesday, Attorney General Eric Holder became visibly upset when Rep. Louis Gohmert suggested that being in contempt of Congress didn’t appear to matter to the Attorney General.

After Holder dismissed Gohmert’s requests for documents relating to congressional investigations, Gohmert said, “I realize that contempt is not a big deal to our Attorney General, but it is important that we have proper oversight.”

“You don’t want to go there buddy!” Holder responded. “You don’t want to go there, OK?”

“You should not assume that uh that is not a big deal to me,” Holder continued. “I think it was inappropriate, I think it was unjust, but never think that it was not a big deal to me. Don’t ever think that.”

Gohmert insisted that Republicans were focused on getting to the bottom of the Fast and Furious gun running scandal.

“I don’t need lectures from you about contempt,” Gohmert fired back.

“And I don’t need lectures from you either,” Holder responded.

In an incident earlier in the hearing,  Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, suggested to Holder that there appeared to be a partisan nature in the cases run by the Justice Department.

“My question is, have you prosecuted anyone in this administration?” King asked. “Because it looks to me that folks on the other side of the aisle are getting extra scrutiny and those on your side of the aisle are getting no scrutiny.” 

King cited investigations into Repubicans such as conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Sousza, Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., Gov. Bob McDonnell, R-Va., and even investigations surrounding the “knockout game,” and pointed out that Democrats such as Gov. Jon Corzine (D-N.J.( and the “Black Panthers” went unchecked.

Holder was visibly annoyed by the question, and told King that he wouldn’t discuss any cases currently under investigation.

“This is a Justice Department that I have run that I’m proud of,” Holder said, noting that the DOJ follows the “facts and the law” in every investigation.

“I’ll put my record up against any other Attorney General, any other Justice Department, and any hint we have engaged in anything that’s partisan or inappropriate in nature I totally one thousand percent reject,” he said.