(CNN) -- The long-awaited report on the controversial gun-trafficking operation known as Fast and Furious may be issued by the Justice Department inspector general as early as Wednesday.
The botched investigation was designed to fleece out trafficking kingpins responsible for illegal gun running to Mexico. It has been blamed for contributing to crimes -- including the high profile murder of a U.S. border agent -- and has become a partisan bone of contention heading into November elections.
In the controversy over its handling, conservative Washington legislators voted down party lines to cite the U.S. attorney general -- a Democrat -- for contempt. It marked the first time in American history that the head of the Justice Department has been held in contempt by Congress.
Democrats protested the vote vehemently as being purely political.