Congressman Bachus Questions Attorney General at Oversight Hearing

Statement

Congressman Spencer Bachus today questioned Attorney General Eric Holder during a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

The hearing came against the backdrop of recent reports that DOJ officials secretly collected news media telephone records and that IRS employees have targeted conservative groups during tax reviews.

Commenting on the hearing, Congressman Bachus said, "The revelations about the IRS singling out conservative groups for special tax scrutiny and the Justice Department's seizure of the phone records of reporters raise troubling issues regarding free speech and the right of Americans to engage in political activity without fear of government retribution. We must have all the facts and full accountability from bottom to top. My concern is that, far too often, we have not had the accountability and promised transparency from this Administration that the American people need and deserve."

Bachus, a senior committee member, asked Attorney General Holder whether the department strictly followed process when it collected two months of telephone records from the AP as part of a reported leak investigation. Holder said he could not provide details because he recused himself from the case in its early stage

Pressed by Congressman Bachus, Attorney General Holder said he was "not sure" of the exact date he recused himself.

Bachus questioned why there was no formal record of the Attorney General's decision to step aside, leaving a deputy in charge of signing off on the highly sensitive subpoenas used to obtain the phone records. He called the lack of a documented process an "unacceptable procedure."

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