Romney says Attorney General Holder should quit

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is calling on President Barack Obama’s attorney general to resign because of the flawed law enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling major arms trafficking networks on the Southwest border.

Romney tells reporters after a rally in New Hampshire that Eric Holder has misled Congress and has “brought shame” on the Justice Department through his handling of Operation Fast and Furious.

Operation Fast and Furious involved more than 2,000 weapons purchased by straw buyers at Phoenix-area gun stores. Nearly 700 of those guns have been recovered — 276 in Mexico and 389 in the United States, according to ATF data as of Oct. 20.

Controversy erupted over the intitiative after two assault rifles turned up at an Arizona shootout where border agent Brian Terry was killed.