Republicans Say Shutdown No Excuse for Holder Suit Delay

House Republicans said a government shutdown is no excuse for delaying their lawsuit seeking documents on the U.S. Justice Department’s botched Operation Fast and Furious.

A Justice Department request for a suspension of the case until the shutdown ends should be rejected because federal courts are still open and the department has agreed to continue working cases when ordered to by judges, according to papers filed yesterday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Their filing was in response to a Justice Department motion for a delay for the duration of the shutdown, which began Oct. 1.

“The committee already has been waiting for near two years for the subpoenaed documents -- the attorney general’s motion should be denied,” committee lawyers wrote.

The bid to suspend the court proceedings followed a Sept. 30 ruling by Judge Amy Berman Jackson rejecting a government motion to throw out the case.

The Republican-controlled House committee sued to enforce a subpoena in the panel’s inquiry into Operation Fast and Furious, a probe that allowed illegal gun purchases in the U.S. in an effort to link the weapons to Mexican gangs.

The committee is seeking documents describing internal Justice Department discussions about a February 2011 letter to lawmakers that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder later said mistakenly contained incorrect information.

The case is Committee on Oversight and Government Reform v. Holder, 1:12-cv-01332, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia (Washington).

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Zajac in Washington at azajac@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net

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Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- House Speaker John Boehner speaks with reporters about his meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House and the U.S. government shutdown. Boehner said Obama refused to negotiate in a meeting with top congressional leaders about the government shutdown. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks about the U.S. government shutdown and President Barack Obama's plans to meet later today with congressional leaders. Carney speaks at the daily White House news conference. (Source: Bloomberg)