For nearly two years, House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) has tried to exploit the tragedy of a series of botched gun stings that led to a federal law enforcement agent’s death in order to score political points against Attorney General Eric Holder. The gun stings that are the focus of Issa’s witchhunt against Holder began when George W. Bush was president and Holder was an attorney in private practice. Nevertheless, Issa eventually forced the House Republican leadership to hold a contempt of Congress vote against Holder, although the leaders buried that vote on the same day that the Affordable Care Act was upheld in a likely attempt to prevent Issa’s witchhunt from receiving much media coverage.

After numerous hearings and, of course, the contempt vote, the Department of Justice’s inspector general released a 471 page report that cleared Holder of any wrongdoing. And yet Issa still plans to continue his crusade against the now-exonerated cabinet official:

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is vowing to continue pursuing Attorney General Eric Holder’s contempt of Congress citation in court and said the report is all the more reason to continue his own probe with new zeal.

Issa will “absolutely” continue pursuing the civil lawsuit attempting to compel Holder to hand over more documents about the gun-running investigation, spokesman Frederick Hill said.

Hill said the findings of the IG report and some of its loose ends “only enhances the importance of the House moving forward in its civil action against President [Barack Obama's] flawed claim of executive privilege.”

The same categories of documents being sought in the suit, which were at the heart of the contempt citation, were reviewed by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Obama did not assert executive privilege to prevent him from obtaining the documents

As ThinkProgess explained last February, Issa’s continued efforts to politicize this tragedy come at a very real cost: “When Issa drags Holder before a House committee for four hours to be nothing more than a pawn in an elaborate game set up to embarrass President Obama, that means many more hours — most likely days — that Holder and other key Justice Department officials must spent prepping for their role in Issa’s withhunt. Every minute they spend preparing for this witchhunt is a minute they cannot spend ensuring that the law is fairly enforced, that national security officials in DOJ have the tools they need to operate, or that dangerous criminals are tracked down and prosecuted.”

This week’s Inspector General report was no whitewash. It recommended discipline against 14 DOJ officials and found “a pattern of serious failures” associated with the gun stings. In other words, it proves that Holder’s Justice Department is fully capable of examining its own dirty laundry and determining which officials need to be disciplined or removed because they performed their job poorly. Issa’s witchhunt does little more than distract from this important effort.

An investigation by an independent arm of the Department of Justice concluded on Wednesday that Attorney General Eric Holder had no knowledge about a series of botched gun stings, which began in 2006 under George W. Bush — until the operation’s flaws became public in January 2011.

The 471-page Inspector General’s report on “Operation Fast and Furious” discredits sharp allegations by Republicans in Congress who launched a witch hunt against Holder, subjecting him to hours of interrogation to float conspiracy theories, alleging repeatedly that the Obama administration was using the high-profile gun violence from the operation to garner support for gun regulation, and finding Holder in contempt of Congress.

The report debunks suggestions that Holder attempted to mislead Congress or cover up information, and confirms Holder’s own account of the operation: that it employed “flawed strategy and tactics,” but that Holder did not know about or authorize those tactics. When Holder learned that the operation out of Phoenix had been selling guns to suspected gun smugglers in an attempt to snag traffickers, he initiated changes to Department policy and personnel, and asked for an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, which concluded:

We determined that Attorney General Holder did not learn about Operation Fast and Furious until late January or early February 2011 and was not aware of allegations of “gun walking” in the investigation until February. We found no evidence that Department or ATF staff informed the Attorney General about Operation Wide Receiver or Operation Fast and Furious prior to 2011. We concluded that the Attorney General’s Deputy Chief of Staff, the Acting Deputy Attorney General, and the leadership of the Criminal Division failed to alert the Attorney General to significant information about or flaws in those investigations.

Although the Office of the Attorney General received various weekly reports from components in the Department that mentioned Operation Fast and Furious, we found that Attorney General Holder did not personally review these reports at the time that his office received them and that his staff did not highlight them for his review. Moreover, we determined that these reports did not refer to agents’ failure to interdict firearms or include information that otherwise provided notice of the improper strategy and tactics that ATF agents were using in the investigation.

The report does hold several lower-level officials responsible for their role in what it calls a ”pattern of serious failures,” and refers 14 DOJ employees for possible discipline. Holder announced today that some officials would be leaving the Department, including former acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives Kenneth Molson, while others would be subject to review.

With this exhaustive report, the Department of Justice can further the real and important work of instituting necessary reforms, hopefully without the continued distraction of defending a bogus campaign to demonize Holder.

A group of former Drug Enforcement Administration officials is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to publicly oppose three state ballot measures that propose legalization of marijuana. In a letter obtained by Reuters, nine former heads of the DEA said Holder’s silence “conveys to the American public and the global community a tacit acceptance” of initiatives in Colorado, Washington state and Oregon that they call “dangerous.”

Washington state’s ballot initiative is supported by former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington John McKay and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. McKay, who said he regrets his prosecution of pot activist Marc Emery, called marijuana prohibition a “complete failure” and a “threat to public safety“:

The black market fuels the cartels, and that’s what allows them to buy the guns they use to kill people. A lot of Americans smoke pot, and they’re willing to pay for it. I think prohibition is a dumb policy, and there are a lot of line federal prosecutors who share the view that the policy is suspect.

In Colorado, a recent Rasmussen poll showed that 61 percent of likely state voters favor of regulating marijuana the way alcohol and cigarettes are regulated. And Mason Tvert, who is leading Colorado’s Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, urged Holder not to subvert the growing public support for legalization:

For Eric Holder to act as the mouthpiece for these old school warriors of the irrational war on marijuana that is rapidly losing public support would be sending a message to tens of thousands of passionate supporters of Amendment 64 that their opinions do not matter. He will be telling them that Colorado must continue to live under a system of marijuana prohibition not because it makes sense, but because the federal government demands it.

The NAACP’s regional chapter has also endorsed Colorado’s Amendment 64, citing the disproportionate impact the drug war has had on the African American community.

The NAACP-Colorado-Montana-Wyoming State Conference reported that African Americans made up more than 31.5 percent of arrests for marijuana possession in Denver, even though they comprise only 11 percent of the population. The disparities are similarly stark statewide. In 2010, the California branch of the NAACP also supported that state’s ballot measure.

Thus far, Holder has said little about the ballot measures. But in 2010, Holder opposed a similar California measure to legalize marijuana, which failed with 53.5 percent voting against the initiative. Since then, the Department of Justice has taken a tougher approach to prosecuting dispensaries of medical marijuana – now legal in 17 states and the District of Columbia — cracking down on even those dispensaries that are in in full compliance with state law.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) believes that US Attorney General Eric Holder “purposefully” made remarks meant to “incite racial tensions” by talking about voter identification efforts at the NAACP.

In a statement released Tuesday, Perry calls on President Obama to apologize for Holder’s speech at the NAACP, during which he said that voter identification laws amounted to a “poll tax“:

“Perhaps while the President is visiting Texas, he can take a break from big-dollar fundraisers to disavow his Attorney General’s offensive and incendiary comments regarding our common-sense voter identification law.

“In labeling the Texas voter ID law as a “poll tax,” Eric Holder purposefully used language designed to inflame passions and incite racial tension. It was not only inappropriate, but simply incorrect on its face.

“The president should apologize for Holder’s imprudent remarks and for his insulting lawsuit against the people of Texas.”

The Department of Justice blocked Texas’s law particularly because of its negative impact on Latino voters, saying that it violated the Voting Rights Act. Indeed, Texas judges seem to agree that the voter ID law would disenfranchise voters of color.

It’s not incorrect to say that voter identification legislation effectively adds up to a poll tax: 25 percent of black and 16 percent of Latino eligible voters lack photograph identification — which can be expensive to obtain.

In fact, voter ID laws themselves may incite racial tension. A poll released yesterday revealed that people who are most supportive of voter ID efforts also tend to be those who harbor a lot of “racial resentment,” particularly toward African Americans.

For more than two years, House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) has tried to exploit the tragedy of a federal law enforcement agent’s death as part of a crusade against Attorney General Eric Holder, most recently by successfully pushing to hold Holder in contempt of Congress despite objections from the House Republican leadership. Last week, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) upped the ante even further by suggesting that the House GOP could unilaterally attempt to have Holder arrested:

Chaffetz, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News that there are three options moving forward — going through the U.S. attorney, taking civil action or instructing the House sergeant at arms to “take control of the situation” with an arrest.

However, he acknowledged the House had received a letter from Department of Justice instructing the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia to not pursue legal action.

The Utah congressman predicted that some people will call for Holder’s arrest, but said the House would “try to exhaust” its other options first.

Watch it:

As a reminder, this entire incident concerns Republican anger that Holder has not complied with a subpoena to turn over documents that are not subject to congressional subpoena. Surely, that is an offense worthy of arresting a sitting cabinet official.

For two years, House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA) has persued a quixotic witchhunt against Attorney General Eric Holder, claiming that a series of botched gun stings that began during the Bush Administration somehow are now the subject of a giant cover up by Holder. Issa’s witchhunt, however, has not been well received by the House Republican leadership, some of whom have even called for Issa to abandon his baseless case against the Attorney General. Nevertheless, Issa enjoys the support of House Republican freshman and other members of his caucus’ right flank, and he’s wielded this support to ignore his leadership’s wishes. Last week, Issa even held a committee vote to hold Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over various documents that are shielded either by executive privilege or longstanding Justice Department polices.

In a sign that the Republican leadership still believes Issa’s witchhunt is not a winner for the GOP, however, they scheduled the full House vote on this contempt resolution for Thursday. Thursday is also the day the Supreme Court will hand down its decision in the Affordable Care Act case, almost certainly displacing all other stories from the news cycle.