1. Issa Has No Case: Issa’s uncovered no evidence showing Holder bears any blame for the botched operations begun under George W. Bush, even though the Justice Department turned over thousands of pages of do ents concerning the operations. Instead of accepting this fact, Issa has requested many more do ents containing confidential information regarding ongoing law enforcement investigations, and is now threatening to hold Holder in contempt if these do ents are not turned over. Holder is entirely correct to withhold these do ents, however, because Justice Department do ents are not subject to congressional subpoena if they would reveal “strategies and procedures that could be used by individuals seeking to evade law enforcement efforts.”
2. Reagan’s Justice Department Agreed With Holder: President Reagan’s Justice Department warned in the 1980s that the Cons ution’s separation of powers prevents the kind of do ents Issa is seeking from being revealed to Congress because of the risk that the legislature could “exert pressure or attempt to influence the prosecution of criminal cases.”