Two days before Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ruled that the Department of Justice must release details on documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. Judge Bates ruled that the DOJ must submit the materials sought by the watchdog group Judicial Watch no later than October 22. The judge called the government's request for more time "unconvincing".

Judicial Watch has been involved in several Freedom of Information Act lawsuits against the Obama administration. Specifically, Judicial Watch seeks information related to the failed "gun running" plot known as Operation Fast and Furious in which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) knowingly sold guns to Mexican drug cartels. On June 20, 2012 President Obama used executive privilege to keep the documents from the public.