Attorney General's statements about Fast and Furious case called into question

Some Republican Congressional leaders are calling for the resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder after internal memos surfaced suggesting he knew or should have known about the ATF’s controversial Fast and Furious case much earlier than he testified.

Holder said he had only recently learned of the case when he testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee in May 2011.

However, Republican Congressional leaders revealed memos written to Holder from the National Drug Intelligence Center in July and August 2010 in which the Fast and Furious case had been mentioned.

“The recently published documents that directly link Mr. Holder to Fast and Furious have convinced me that he is either lying or grossly incompetent,” said Raul Labrador, (R-Idaho), who called for Holder's resignation.

THE CASE HISTORY

In June, the ABC15 Investigators revealed documents showing guns connected to the Fast and Furious case turned up at drug-related crime scenes, including “large-scale” marijuana trafficking operations in Phoenix and Glendale.

The ABC15 Investigators also linked an additional 43 weapons , recovered during a Phoenix DEA traffic stop, to the case.

For months, Congressional investigators have been trying to determine who was responsible for developing the strategy that operated out of the Phoenix ATF field office.

CONGRESSMAN ISSA REACTS TO HOLDER

“Attorney General Holder has failed to give Congress and the American people an honest account of what he and other senior Justice Department officials knew about gunwalking and Operation Fast and Furious," said Darrell Issa, (R-CA).

"The lack of candor and honesty from our nation’s chief law enforcement officials in this matter is deeply disturbing,” he added.

PRESIDENT OBAMA DEFENDS HOLDER

President Obama backed Holder during a press conference Thursday.

“I have complete confidence in Attorney General Holder in how he handles his office,” Mr. Obama said.

“He's indicated that he was not aware of what was happening in Fast and Furious. Certainly I was not, and I think both he and I would have been very unhappy if somebody had suggested that guns were allowed to pass through that could have been prevented by the United States of America,” he continued.

Attorney General Eric Holder will likely be called to testify again in front of a join Congressional committee hearing.

SHERIFFS HOLD MEETING

Meanwhile, ten Arizona sheriffs, including Paul Babeu, are holding a special press conference Friday to discuss how the Fast and Furious has affected their communities. The press conference happens at 11:00am at the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, at the state capitol.