U.S. judge rejects government bid to kill 'Fast and Furious' suit

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Source: Reuters

U.S. judge rejects government bid to kill 'Fast and Furious' suit

By Nick Brown
Mon Sep 30, 2013 11:15pm EDT

(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday refused to dismiss a lawsuit by Republican lawmakers who accuse Attorney General Eric Holder of wrongfully withholding documents tied to an investigation into a botched probe of gun trafficking on the U.S.-Mexican border.

"Neither legal nor prudential considerations support the dismissal of this action," District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in a ruling rejecting the Department of Justice's request to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court in Washington.

The Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sued Holder in August 2012, seeking to enforce its subpoena connected to the gun trafficking probe dubbed "Operation Fast and Furious" after the Obama administration refused to turn over related documents.

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In asking that the case be thrown out, Holder contended that courts should not get involved in political disputes between two branches of government, an argument rejected by the judge.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/01/us-usa-lawsuit-fastandfurious-idUSBRE99002S20131001

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1. Arizona Daily Star: Judge rejects White House Fast and Furious autonomy claims

http://azstarnet.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/judge-rejects-white-house-fast-and-furious-autonomy-claims/article_63ef8b17-ff0c-5172-9870-66f3601a59f0.html

PHOENIX — A federal judge has rejected arguments by the U.S. Department of Justice that she cannot intercede in a congressional bid to investigate how and why the agency first lied about the Operation Fast and Furious “gun walking” operation in Arizona.

Judge Amy B. Jackson said federal courts are entitled to determine whether the Obama administration is wrongfully withholding documents from a House panel looking into the now-abandoned practice of letting illegally purchased weapons make their way to Mexico. That practice came to light when “walked” guns ended up at the scene where Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in 2010.

In her ruling this week, Jackson said the fact the dispute may have political elements is legally irrelevant. Just because the fight is between two other branches of government does not deprive courts of their role in deciding who is right, she said.

And Jackson is an Obama nominee.