Attorney General Eric Holder made an offer Rep. Issa refused after their 20-minute meeting Tuesday evening. The conference was one final effort to halt the contempt vote scheduled for 10 AM today. 

Issa released this statement following the meeting. 

I had hoped that after this evening's meeting I would be able to tell you that the Department had delivered documents that would justify the postponement of tomorrow's vote on contempt.  The Department told the Committee on Thursday that it had documents it could produce that would answer our questions. Today, the Attorney General informed us that the Department would not be producing those documents. The only offer they made involved us ending our investigation.

While I still hope the Department will reconsider its decision so tomorrow's vote can be postponed, after this meeting I cannot say that I am optimistic.  At this point, we simply do not have the documents we have repeatedly said we need to justify the postponement of a contempt vote in committee.

If there was any smidgeon of hope Holder would do the right thing and fork over the documents it's gone. Holder had indicated earlier he would hand over 1,300 pages but he showed up at the Capitol empty-handed.

The ball's in their court," Holder said. "We made what we thought was an extraordinary offer."

Operation Fast and Furious led to the murders of Federal agents and Mexican nationals which makes Holder's hubris in defying Congress off the charts.

Issa has a textbook contempt case against Holder. The attorney general is required by law to comply with a congressional subpoena so what is Holder going to the mat for?

The mainstream media is complicit as well. Their deafening silence coupled with Holder's arrogance must be inversely proportional to their level of guilt.

Read more M. Catharine Evans at Potter Williams Report