Judge suspends activity in Fast and Furious case

WASHINGTON – A judge has suspended activity in a dispute over documents between the Justice Department and Congress because of the government shutdown.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted the Justice Department's request to halt proceedings in the dispute over "Operation Fast and Furious." That was a botched investigation of gun-smuggling in Arizona.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is suing Attorney General Eric Holder. The committee had opposed a delay, saying it has waited for nearly two years for documents it subpoenaed in the dispute.

But the judge wrote that while the most people have no control over delays in their cases, "that cannot be said of the House of Representatives, which has played a role in the shutdown that prompted" the Justice Department request.