Pelosi: Holder being targeted over voter ID laws

The top House Democrat has a theory as to why Republicans are pursuing contempt of Congress charges against Attorney General Eric Holder.

It's the Justice Department lawsuits against states that have enacted voter identification laws, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

"They're going after Eric Holder because he is supporting measures to overturn these voter suppression initiatives in the states," Pelosi told reporters today. "This is no accident. It is no coincidence.

"It is a plan on the part of the Republicans," added Pelosi, who accused the House Republican majority of "a shameful display of abuse of power."

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Pelosi is making "a bizarre and ridiculous claim," one she should "justify or retract."

Boehner and other House Republicans said they are pondering a contempt citation against Holder because he is withholding documents in connection with an investigation of the "Fast and Furious" gun-smuggling operation.

GOP lawmakers who back voter identification laws say they are designed to block voter fraud -- and they have been pushing for them for years.

Said Buck: "Americans are facing serious challenges, and it's no time for political leaders to be leveling such outrageous conspiracy theories."