WASHINGTON – Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Grassley have asked U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for responses to several unanswered letters, questions and document requests from both the current and previous administrations. Some of the requests date back several years. Leahy is the chairman and Grassley is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Holder testified during his confirmation hearing that he would work to make sure that the Department responded to congressional inquiries in a timely fashion.
Here is a copy of the text of the letter. The list of outstanding requests can be found here.
October 20, 2009
Via Electronic Transmission
The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20535
Dear Attorney General Holder:
We write today regarding a number of outstanding requests for information that have been submitted to the Department of Justice over the last several years. Specifically, the attached chart prepared by Senator Grassley details numerous requests from questions submitted at oversight hearings conducted by the Committee on the Judiciary and letters submitted seeking answers to specific oversight inquiries. Some of the requests outlined in the chart have been outstanding for a significant length of time, and the Committee needs this information to conduct its business.
The chart outlines the specific information requested, the date the request was made, the date a response was due, the date of any response received, as well as Senator Grassley’s statement about the reply and comments as to why he believes any responses that were provided were not responsive to the inquiry.
We appreciated your statement at your confirmation hearing before the Committee that if confirmed as Attorney General, you would “do all [you] can, and, to make sure that [you] respond fully…and in a timely fashion” to Congressional oversight inquiries. In that spirit, we ask that you work with Senator Grassley to address these outstanding requests expeditiously.
Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters. Please do not hesitate to contact our offices should you have specific questions regarding any of the outstanding requests.
Sincerely,
Patrick Leahy Charles E. Grassley
Chairman United States Senator
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