The pressure on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign over the Fast and Furious scandal keeps mounting. The Daily Caller reported 17 members of Congress are now demanding Holder step down pronto. Only 17?  Why aren't the rest of the Republican representatives calling for the top lawmaker's resignation?

Representative Dan Burton (R-Ind) who used to chair the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee under Clinton called Holder "a mistake from the beginning."

When I was chairman of government reform and oversight during the Clinton administration, we had Holder before my committee a number of times and he misled the committee. In fact, he lied. During his confirmation in the Senate, I sent a letter to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, [Sen. Patrick] Leahy, and I sent it to the other members of the committee as well, and I cited specific cases where Holder had not been straight with the committee and I said he should not be confirmed.

Glad to hear Burton is finally dropping the niceties saying Holder "lied." Americans have to be asking "how did Holder pass muster so many times?" Aren't elected representatives sworn to confirm only those who will uphold the law and not subvert it for their own ends?  How many passes will Holder get before he's stopped? I guess we'll find out.

Politico reported Holder will appear before a Senate Judiciary Committee in a "friendlier forum" on November 8, a month before he's scheduled to answer questions before the House Judiciary Committee on December 8. Senator Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Committee, will get a chance to grill Holder despite the presence of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT).  Grassley has worked closely with Congressman Darrell Issa, who has been his tenacious partner in going after the truth about Operation Fast and Furious.

Word to Grassley: if Holder's talking, he's lying. And the public is growing pretty tired of lying and corrupt officials. If any citizen in a position of authority allowed illegal gun running to occur under his watch resulting in the murders of 2 federal agents and hundreds of Mexican citizens he would be held accountable and tried under the rule of law.

As the top justice official, Holder should be held to the highest standard. Instead, the attorney general hides behind the underlings in his department. Just yesterday the head of Holder's criminal division, Lanny A. Breuer, stated he first heard about the tactic of gun walking in 2010 when his deputy wrote him about "Wide Receiver" a program started under President Bush. Breuer said he "regrets" not letting other leaders in the Justice Department know about the controversial strategy. He also felt badly about not forwarding information on the separate Fast and Furious Operation.  Trouble is investigators say Breuer's statement "contradicts" a DOJ letter sent earlier denying "allegations of gunwalking."

Breuer's lame attempt to blame former President Bush defies logic with an administration who won an election promising to lead the country in a new, transparent direction. Wouldn't their first order of business involve shutting down a program antithetical to this promise? Not only that but wasn't Breuer aware high-level government leaders including the President, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Napolitano, Attorney General Holder and former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden were holding briefings in Mexico and DC on the $10 million allocated to trace guns and "break the backs of the cartel "in March, 2009?

Senator Grassley should begin the grilling next Tuesday with the victims' pictures front and center. Holder doesn't need any more get out of jail free cards courtesy of establishment politicians.

 Read more M. Catharine Evans at Potter Williams Report