Issa willing to postpone contempt vote against Holder pending release of more documents :: 06/16/2012

WASHINGTON - Rep. Darrell Issa said Friday he is willing to postpone a contempt of Congress vote against Attorney General Eric Holder if the Justice Department turns over additional records as promised in the congressional investigation of a flawed gun-smuggling probe on the Southwest border.

However, Issa says he still has concerns that the number of documents the department says it will deliver may not be sufficient to end the investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Issa had set a contempt vote for Wednesday.

On Thursday, the attorney general said the department is prepared to turn over documents detailing how Justice Department officials came to the realization that federal agents in Arizona had used a controversial investigative tactic called gun-walking -- letting illicitly purchased guns be transported instead of intercepted in an effort to track them to major arms-traffickers. Using the tactic resulted in hundreds of illicitly purchased guns winding up in Mexico, many of them at crime scenes.

Two of the weapons were recovered at the scene of the slaying of a U.S. border agent, Brian Terry.

Issa, the Republican chairman of the House committee, said that he and Sen. Chuck Grassley are willing to meet with Holder as soon as next Tuesday. Issa asked Holder to produce the documents before the meeting.

Published June 15, 2012, Associated Press