Sen. Grassley: I’m not politically motivated by Fast and Furious

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) responds to House Oversight Committee vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt over Fast and Furious documents and whether or not the decision was politically motivated.

Sen. Grassley says, “I would very much hope that it would be negotiated out. And really, all we’re asking for is documents…. We know of no presidential involvement in this. I’ve never accused the President of anything until just now when he put executive privilege in, then that raises a whole bunch of questions. Has he been involved? I’ve only been trying to find out who at the highest level of government, presumably in the Justice Department, that gave approval for this, so we can get them fired.”

When CNN Anchor Soledad O’Brien asks for his thoughts on Rep. Cummings’ assertion that the committee’s contempt vote was politically motivated, he answers, “Well I would say to him he can say anything about members of the House of Representatives he wants to, but he knows me well enough, in the three decades that I’ve been in the Senate, I’ve established a reputation for vigorous oversight and I have probably taken on more Republican Presidents of my own party than I have Democratic Presidents. So, nobody can question whether or not I’m politically motivated by this. I’m motivated to get the facts out, to make sure the law is faithfully executed and make sure [U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s] family gets the information and make sure a stupid program like this never happens again.”

Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien airs weekday mornings from 7-9am ET on CNN.