Issa on Grenade-Walking Scandal: WH 'Let Bad Things Happen' to Push Assault Weapons Ban

by AWR Hawkins 26 Oct 2013
 

 

 Responding to news that explosives from a DOJ grenade-walking scandal were detected at an attack that killed three Mexican policemen, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) suggested "the administration really did want to let bad things happen in the hopes that they would get an 'assault weapons' ban." On October 23, Breitbart News reported that explosives used in a recent attack on Mexican police were traced to U.S. bomb maker Jean Baptiste Kingery. He is accused of walking grenade components into Mexico and also of converting semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons.

Kingery was apprehended in 2009, but the U.S. Attorney in Arizona, Dennis Burke, did not prosecute him. The DOJ chose instead to secretly watch Kingery and try to track grenade components once they were in Mexico, in hopes that they would lead to cartel members.

This endeavor failed, and now three Mexican policemen are dead.

Rep. Issa commented on the DOJ grenade-walking scandal:

When you have the attorney general's own offices being informed about a very dangerous person exporting hand grenades and converting AK-47s into machine guns and they let him continue as part of not, Fast and Furious, but a completely separate failure, I think what you see is an administration that I'm beginning to think really did want to let bad things happen in hopes they would get [an] assault weapons ban. The dots are being connected more and more to these kinds of actions.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.

Big Government

The Bloody Hands of Barack Obama

May 13, 2013
By Stella Paul

The Three Whistleblowers at the Benghazi hearing spoke softly, but with the emotional wallop of The Three Tenors.  They told the truth, and it blasted like thunder through Obama's tissue palace of lies.

Listening to these strong, solemn men, I heard the sound of old America: a place of hardworking people who love their country and believe in something bigger than their own power.

The America of Gregory Hicks, Mark Thompson, and Eric Nordstrom won World War II, walked on the moon, and defeated Communism.  But today, their America is forced to serve a different god: a cold, smiling man with a hollow heart and hands that get bloodier by the day.

Obama stands center stage in this tragic opera of America's downfall, cheapening, endangering, and destroying the lives of the best among us.  The pile of corpses grows ever higher, and the lies more noxious.

Let's pay tribute to some of his many victims, and vow to honor their memory by holding him to account.

BENGHAZI: Ambassador Chris Stevens, Glen Doherty, Sean Smith, and Tyrone Woods. 

Obama failed to attend a single intelligence briefing in the week before September 11, 2012.  As the Libyan consulate in Benghazi came under attack that day, he disappeared for the evening, then jetted off the next day for a Las Vegas fundraiser.  Meanwhile, Ambassador Stevens was raped, murdered, and dragged through the streets by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists, while three brave Americans died trying to defend him.

Having ignored Ambassador Stevens's previous reports of a "security vacuum" in Libya, Obama allowed the abortion of two rescue missions ready to fly to Benghazi.  Regional security officer Eric Nordstrom testified that "... whether or not you're sitting off at a post, requesting resources, preparing for testimony before this committee, or standing on a building surrounding by an armed mob attacking you, the message is the same: 'You're on your own.'"

BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING: Martin Richard (age 8), Krystle Campbell, Lu Lingzi, and Sean Collier.

The Russians and the Saudis both say they warned Obama's security team about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two jihad-crazed brothers who set off fatal bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line and then killed police officer Sean Collier.  The FBI interviewed Tamerlan, found nothing, and failed to inform the Boston police of Russia's multiple warnings.  The Tsarnaev brothers were free to pursue their murderous plot, while living the high life on taxpayer welfare.

After the city of Boston was put on lockdown, surviving brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured and began to talk about his schemes.  But this potential life-saving information (reportedly, the brothers planned to attack New York) was squelched when Obama's Department of Justice rushed to charge him with a crime and read him his Miranda rights.  Dzhokhar immediately shut up.

The feds refuse to let the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth release Dzhokhar's college records, claiming it would violate federal privacy law.  Meanwhile, two illegal aliens have been arrested as accomplices; Obama's Department of Homeland Security allowed one of them to re-enter the U.S. in January without a valid student visa.

OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS: Brian Terry, Jaime Zapata, and hundreds of unnamed Mexicans.

Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder, conducted a secret gun-running operation that supplied thousands of assault weapons to drug cartels in Mexico.  Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE Agent Jaime Zapata were both murdered with Fast and Furious guns.  Their families have filed wrongful death lawsuits against the federal government.

The Terry lawsuit claims that the federal officials "created, organized, implemented and/or participated in a plan - code named 'Operation Fast and Furious' - to facilitate the distribution of dangerous firearms to violent criminals" and that they "knew or should have known that their actions would cause substantial injuries, significant harm, and even death to Mexican and American civilians and law enforcement, but were recklessly indifferent to the consequence of their actions."  Eric Holder has been found in contempt of Congress for refusing to release requested documented to congressional investigators, and he appears to have committed perjury in his testimony.

FORT HOOD: Juanita Warman, Libardo Caraveo, John P. Gaffaney, Russell Seager, Justin Decrow, Amy Krueger, Jason Hunt, Frederick Greene, Aaron Nemelka, Michael Pearson, Kham Xiong, Francheska Velez (and unborn child, and Michael G. Cahill.

On November 5, 2009, Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire on a group of soldiers preparing to deploy to Iraq, killing 13 and wounding 32.  Associates raised repeated questions about his strange behavior but were squashed by what they call the Pentagon's "political correctness."  A devout Muslim, Hasan was in extensive communication with al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki, printed up business cards that read "Soldier of Allah," dressed in Islamic martyrdom garb, and handed out korans the morning of the attack.  He screamed "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire.

Nevertheless, Obama refuses to deem the largest attack on a U.S. military installation in history a terrorist assault, insisting that it be classified "workplace violence."  Hasan's victims have been denied Purple Hearts.  Fort Hood hero Kimberly Munley told ABC News that Obama "betrayed" her and the other victims.  "Not to the least little bit have the victims been taken care of," she said.  "In fact, they've been neglected."

NAVY SEAL TEAM VI HELICOPTER CRASH IN AFGHANISTAN, AUGUST 2011: Jonas B. Kelsall, Louis J. Langlais, Thomas A. Ratzlaff, Kraig M. Vickers, Brian R. Bill, John W. Faas, Kevin A. Houston, Matthew D. Mason, Stephen M. Mills, Nicholas H. Null, Robert J. Reeves, Heath M. Robinson, Darrik C. Benson, Christopher G. Campbell, Jared W. Day, John Douangdara, Michael J. Strange, Jon T. Tumilson, Aaron C. Vaughn, Jason R. Workman, Jesse D. Pittman, Nicholas P. Spehar, David R. Carter, Bryan J. Nichols, Patrick D. Hamburger, Alexander J. Bennett, Spencer C. Duncan, John W. Brown, Andrew W. Harvell, and Daniel L. Zerbe.  

On May 2, 2011, members of SEAL Team VI invaded Osama bin Laden's Pakistani compound and killed him.  Three months later, 30 American troops, most of them members of SEAL Team VI, were shot down by the Taliban over Afghanistan.

On May 9, 2013, families of the fallen held a press conference to accuse Barack Obama of complicity in their deaths.  They charged Obama with endangering SEAL Team VI by breaking protocol and revealing its identity as bin Laden's killers.  They also revealed that their sons were sent to battle with inadequate equipment and air support and denied requested pre-assault fire.

The families played a video of their sons' military funeral.  No mention of the Judeo-Christian God was allowed, but the Pentagon invited a Muslim cleric to speak, who cursed their sons in Arabic as infidels condemned to hell.

Karen Vaughn, mother of fallen SEAL Aaron Vaughn, said, "Why was there no pre-assault fire? We were told as families because pre-assault fire damages our efforts to win the hearts and mind of our enemy. In other words, the hearts and mind of our enemy are more valuable to this government than my son's blood."

Alas, I have no room to name all the troops killed by Obama's crippling Rules of Engagement.  "American troops are needlessly exposed to increased enemy attack, suffer unnecessary casualties, cannot secure or control the indigenous population and are not allowed to deny freedom of movement or maneuver to the Taliban," according to a tactical commander in Afghanistan.  As a result, more than twice as many American soldiers have died in Afghanistan under four years of Obama than in eight years under Bush.

Nor do I have room to list all the Americans murdered and maimed by the illegal aliens to whom Obama shows such special devotion.  This week, Chris Crane, president of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers union, said Obama has "attempted to shut down" border enforcement and "absolutely" tied law enforcement's hands. Recently, Obama released 5,000 criminal aliens from jail, blaming sequestration cuts, and created special protections against deportation for illegal aliens with "serious mental disorders."

In the White House lives the man with the blood-red hands.  The screams and sobs of his victims grow louder by the day.

Stella Paul's new ebook is What I Miss About America: Reflections from the Golden Age of Hope and Change, available at Amazon for just $1.99.  Write Stella at Stellapundit@aol.com.

American Thinker

Holder Begs Court to Stop Document Release on Fast and Furious

by Matthew Boyle 17 Jan 2013

  Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of Justice have asked a federal court to indefinitely delay a lawsuit brought by watchdog group Judicial Watch. The lawsuit seeks the enforcement of open records requests relating to Operation Fast and Furious, as required by law. Judicial Watch had filed, on June 22, 2012, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking all documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious and “specifically [a]ll records subject to the claim of executive privilege invoked by President Barack Obama on or about June 20, 2012.”

The administration has refused to comply with Judicial Watch’s FOIA request, and in mid-September the group filed a lawsuit challenging Holder’s denial. That lawsuit remains ongoing but within the past week President Barack Obama’s administration filed what’s called a “motion to stay” the suit. Such a motion is something that if granted would delay the lawsuit indefinitely.

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said that Holder’s and Obama’s desire to continually hide these Fast and Furious documents is “ironic” now that they’re so gung-ho on gun control. “It is beyond ironic that the Obama administration has initiated an anti-gun violence push as it's seeking to keep secret key documents about its very own Fast and Furious gun walking scandal,” Fitton said in a statement. “Getting beyond the Obama administration’s smokescreen, this lawsuit is about a very simple principle: the public’s right to know the full truth about an egregious political scandal that led to the death of at least one American and countless others in Mexico. The American people are sick and tired of the Obama administration trying to rewrite FOIA law to protect this president and his appointees. Americans want answers about Fast and Furious killings and lies.”

The only justification Holder uses to ask the court to indefinitely delay Judicial Watch’s suit is that there’s another lawsuit ongoing for the same documents – one filed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Judicial Watch has filed a brief opposing the DOJ’s motion to stay.

As the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform was voting Holder into contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with congressional investigators by failing to turn over tens of thousands of pages of Fast and Furious documents, Obama asserted the executive privilege over them. The full House of Representatives soon after voted on a bipartisan basis to hold Holder in contempt.

There were two parts of the contempt resolution. Holder was, and still is, in both civil and criminal contempt of Congress. The criminal resolution was forwarded to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen–who works for Holder–for prosecution. Despite being technically required by law to bring forth criminal charges against Holder, under orders from Holder’s Department of Justice Machen chose to ignore the resolution.

The second part of the contempt resolution–civil contempt of Congress–allowed House Republicans to hire legal staff to challenge President Obama’s assertion of the executive privilege. That lawsuit remains ongoing despite Holder’s and the DOJ’s attempt to dismiss it and settle it.

It’s unclear what’s in the documents Obama asserted privilege over, but the president’s use of the extraordinary power appears weak. There are two types of presidential executive privilege: the presidential communications privilege and the deliberative process privilege. Use of the presidential communications privilege would require that the president himself or his senior-most advisers were involved in the discussions.

Since the president and his cabinet-level officials continually claim they had no knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious until early 2011 when the information became public–and Holder claims he didn’t read the briefing documents he was sent that outlined the scandal and how guns were walking while the operation was ongoing–Obama says he’s using the less powerful deliberative process privilege.

The reason why Obama’s assertion of that deliberative process privilege over these documents is weak at best is because the Supreme Court has held that such a privilege assertion is invalidated by even the suspicion of government wrongdoing. Obama, Holder, the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and virtually everyone else involved in this scandal have admitted that government wrongdoing actually took place in Operation Fast and Furious. 

In Fast and Furious, the ATF “walked” about 2,000 firearms into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels.

That means through straw purchasers they allowed sales to happen and didn’t stop the guns from being trafficked even though they had the legal authority to do so and were fully capable of doing so.
Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and hundreds of Mexican citizens–estimates put it around at least 300–were killed with these firearms.

Big Government

Holder Meets with Tucson Victims, Presses Stricter Gun Laws

by Mary Chastain 30 Aug 2012
 

 Attorney General Eric Holder met with the survivors of the tragic Tucson shooting from January 2011 to discuss stricter gun laws. Twelve people survived, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and six others died. There was a tragedy a month before -- December 14, 2010. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was murdered by smugglers using high-powered weapons supplied by the United States government in

Operation Fast & Furious. On February 14, 2011, ICE Agent Jaime Zapata was murdered in Mexico by drug cartels using weapons supplied by our government in a gunwalking operation out of Texas.

Mr. Holder has not met with either family. He did not reach out to the Terry family until he was called out during a congressional hearing. A letter to Brian’s mother penned by AG Holder was leaked to the media before she received it.

Holder's visit to Tucson victims centered on passing new anti-gun laws. Sharyl Attkisson at CBS News revealed emails last December that proved Fast & Furious was used to support stricter gun control laws.

Holder has given no indication he will visit the Terry or Zapata families any time soon.

Big Government

Issa Asks IG Horowitz to Testify on Fast and Furious

by Mary Chastain 25 Aug 2012
 

 The long awaited Inspector General’s report on Operation Fast & Furious has been delivered to Attorney General Eric Holder, ATF, and the Department of Justice. Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa sent a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz asking him to testify on Tuesday, September 11.

Fast & Furious was a gun walking scheme out of the ATF which allowed guns to land in the hands on Mexican drug cartels. Guns have been found at the deaths of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and 300+ Mexicans and have been found at twelve crime scenes across America. Over 1,000 guns are still missing.

No one within the ATF has been held accountable. The people have either been allowed to resign quietly or reassigned to another position. On Thursday it was revealed that a main player is on paid leave by the ATF while holding a lucrative job with J.P. Morgan.

Last month the House of Representatives voted to hold Mr. Holder in contempt of Congress. Last October Mr. Holder was issued a subpoena and despite many opportunities to comply he stonewalled Congress. Chairman Issa bent over backwards to receive anything and still received nothing.

The Democrats have tried to convince themselves the American public doesn’t care much about this case, but a poll last month showed 53% supported the contempt vote and 69% of people wanted President Obama to release the documents. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has even claimed this is about voter ID laws.

The House did file a civil contempt lawsuit against Mr. Holder.

Chairman Issa used this evidence to encourage Mr. Horowitz not to delay releasing the report.
“It would be regrettable if senior department officials applied political pressure on you to delay publication of this report,” wrote Chairman Issa. “Given the considerable public interest in this case and the attorney general’s own purported interest in learning the recommendations set forth in your report in order to make important management changes, it is incumbent upon you to release this report as soon as practicable.”

Big Government

Guns N’ Rose colored deals

By Doug Hagmann 

 The more research and investigation one does into the Obama-Napolitano-Holder ATF sanctioned Fast and Furious operation, the greater is the stench that emanates from the ties between Obama, his minions and the global bankers. From claims of “executive privilege” by Obama to the outright persecution of whistleblowers trying to do the right thing, we are now seeing the actual unveiling of the incestuous ties between globalist bankers and the present power elite in Washington.

According to a letter sent Tuesday from Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and Representative Daryl Issa, Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to ATF Acting Director B. Todd Jones, a key suspect (my word) in the Fast and Furious criminal operation has not only been on paid administrative leave for the last several months, but is concurrently working in the private sector and receiving income from that job as well.

At the center of this latest controversy is William McMahon, former Deputy Assistant Director for Field Operations at the ATF. The findings from the first phase of a three-part congressional investigation that was published on 31 July 2012 stated the following about McMahon:

Though he served as the crucial link between ATF headquarters and the Phoenix Field Division, Bill McMahon admittedly rubber stamped critical documents that came across his desk without reading them. In McMahon’s view, it was not his job to ask any questions about what was going on in the field. McMahon gave false testimony to Congress about signing applications for wiretap intercepts in Fast and Furious (emphasis by this author).

According to Senator Grassley and Representative Issa, McMahon is a full time employee of ATF’s Office of Professional Responsibility, on paid administrative leave and awaiting his retirement (with a six-figure salary and full government benefits). In the interim, however, McMahon is serving as Executive Director of the Global Security and Investigations Group for none other than JP Morgan Chase in the Philippines.

As noted by the letter, this unusual arrangement is “apparently designed to allow Mr. McMahon to reach retirement eligibility while on extended leave…and simultaneously begin a second career before separating from government employment.” The hubris of ATF and government officials is clear, as it obviously awards those involved in the gun running operation while sending a chilling message to anyone who has already or might be thinking about coming forward to expose wrongdoing and criminal behavior at the highest levels of government.

JP Morgan and Obama: Follow the money

Briefly setting aside the convenient employment arrangement between a top government official found to have lied to a congressional investigative body and his reward of a double-dip income arrangement, let’s look at other aspects that few seem to want to discuss about the Obama “regime.”

First, JP Morgan is the largest processor of food stamp benefits in the United States. They process food stamp debit cards in over half of the states and the District of Columbia in the U.S., and are paid for each transaction they process. Ultimately, the more people who become recipients of food stamps (actually, food debit cards), the more revenue that is generated by JP Morgan. When one considers the increasing number of food stamp recipients, it is clear that the JP Morgan’s revenue is increasing. If one understands the workings of the system, their revenue is increasing on the backs of taxpayers.

Looking at the larger picture, this might help explain why JP Morgan was one of Barack Hussein Obama’s largest financial contributors to his 2008 presidential campaign, where they gave a whopping $800,000.00. Perhaps this is one reason that Obama maintains an investment portfolio in JP Morgan Chase, and during his May 12, 2012 appearance on The View, hailed JP Morgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon “as one of the smartest bankers we’ve got.” This, despite the $25 million transfer to JP Morgan under the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and a subsequent admission of $2 billion trading losses.

Relevant to the ATF, it is important to note that JP Morgan Chase also administers the credit cards issued to the ATF as well. It should outrage everyone to consider the possibility that murdered Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry had a JP Morgan Chase credit card in his wallet the day he was gunned down, and that one of the very people who bears a level of responsibility for his death lands a job with JP Morgan while continuing to suck on the very chafed teat of the American taxpayer.

What a deal for McMahon, and what a shame for justice. There is a trail of blood leading from the dusty Arizona desert to Pennsylvania Avenue and Wall Street, and yet no one wants to address the bloody footprints.

Canada Free Press

Media Buries Lawsuit Against Holder

by Mary Chastain 14 Aug 2012

 

 Yesterday the Oversight Committee filed a civil contempt lawsuit against Attorney General Eric Holder to force him to turn over documents pertaining to Operation Fast & Furious. Yet the Old Media still ignores Fast & Furious despite the fact that 53% Americans approve of the contempt charge and 69% want President Obama to release the documents. Representative Joe Walsh told Breitbart News Mr. Holder was able to succeed in stonewalling Congress because of a compliant media. It’s very frustrating for the committee.

Arizona Representatives Ben Quayle and Paul Gosar also said it’s one of the top issues for their constituents. Mr. Quayle said Mr. Holder’s handling of Fast & Furious is brought up every time he holds a townhall.

The Associated Press wrote up a story and, as they usually do with stories about Fast & Furious, the rest of the outlets reprinted it.

The New York Times didn’t even reprint the entire article. Instead they printed ONE paragraph. Also, the reader has to physically search for it unless they type in “Eric Holder” in the search engine, it wouldn't be found. 

The Washington Post reprinted the AP article, but they made it easy to find by putting it on the front page of their website. This is sad because after the contempt vote in June they were getting better at their coverage.

FOX News had it as their top story on the webpage. CNN did have a decent article on Fast & Furious, but they buried it. The NBC News website had an article that was found only through my Google alerts email. In the article they quoted Nancy Pelosi and DOJ spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler. They paraphrase Speaker John Boehner’s statement, but there are no quotes from Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa or any other member of the committee. It’s a shame they relied on Mrs. Pelosi because I destroyed her statement when it came out.

USA Today had a semi-original piece that also paraphrased Speaker Boehner, but also quoted Minority Whip Steny Hoyer. Again, they didn’t bother to quote Chairman Issa or other members of the committee. I also had to come across this article through Google alerts.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, but when it involves a story that is very important no reader should have to search for a story or rely on Google alerts. These outlets should have someone covering this story all the time. They should all write an original copy.

No wonder they're slowly dying out.

Big Journalism

GOP sues to force Obama, Holder compliance on Fast and Furious

By Jerry Seper and Stephen Dinan

A civil lawsuit filed Monday by House Republicans asks a federal court to enforce a congressional subpoena of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in his refusal to turn over documents sought in an investigation by a House committee into the failed Fast and Furious gunrunning operation.

House Speaker John A. Boehner said in a statement the lawsuit seeks to overturn the Obama administration’s “frivolous executives privilege claims,” forcing the Justice Department to make public documents the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee claims could show who at the department was aware of the botched investigation and what they did about it.

Mr. Boehner said President Obama and his team were ignoring an Oct. 11 congressional subpoena —
something the courts have long recognized as valid — and that lawmakers were left with no choice but to ask the U.S. District Court in Washington to referee.

“By stonewalling Congress and ignoring a contempt order, the Justice Department has left the House no choice but to take legal action so we can get to the bottom of the Fast and Furious operation that cost border Agent Brian Terry his life,” Mr. Boehner said.

“After providing — then retracting — inaccurate information to Congress, Attorney General Holder has gone to extraordinary lengths to block access to subpoenaed documents and deny the efforts of the Terry family to get the truth,” he said.

“The White House has been complicit in this effort to hide the truth by making executive privilege claims that have no merit, which is why today’s action is necessary,” the Ohio Republican said, adding that a bipartisan vote by the House to hold Mr. Holder in contempt “made clear that the Obama administration owes the Terry family and the American people the truth.”

He said the House would continue to hold the administration accountable until it provides the documents and answers the questions sought by the committee “to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again.”

The House voted a contempt of Congress citation against Mr. Holder on June 28 in a 255-67 vote for his refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents in the Fast and Furious investigation.

The committee inquiry began in December 2010 after the death of Terry. Two AK-47 semiautomatic weapons purchased by straw buyers as part of Fast and Furious were found at the site of the Terry killing.

More than 2,000 weapons were purchased from Arizona gun shops during the lengthy operation, about 1,000 of which remain unaccounted for. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents were told to stand down instead of interdicting the weapons. The Fast and Furious operation was supposed to track the guns being sold to Mexican cartels to identify the actual buyers, but the ATF lost track of the weapons.

The White House, which had first said it would try to work out a way to release the documents but that they didn’t show anything incriminating, later reversed course and claimed executive privilege, thus preventing the
Justice Department from releasing the records.
Department officials have said they were willing to negotiate over the documents but the committee sought instead to litigate the matter.

Republicans on Capitol Hill want to know who approved the ATF operation and have rejected Obama administration assurances that it was lower-level staffers. Released emails and documents paint a complex picture, showing some details either were or should have been noticed by high-level Justice Department officials.

Mr. Holder has disputed those characterizations — though he has already had to retract an official communication to Congress that had false information about the operation itself, and has also officially withdrawn part of his own testimony that seemed to suggest one of his predecessors under President George W. Bush had known of a similar operation.

Among other things, the lawsuit seeks documents showing why the Justice Department took 10 months to retract a Feb. 4, 2011, statement that contained false denials of the investigative tactics used in Fast and Furious. It also notes that minutes before the House committee convened a business meeting to consider the Holder contempt citation, Mr. Obama invoked an eleventh-hour assertion of executive privilege over the documents. The lawsuit asks the federal court to rule Mr. Obama’s assertion of executive privilege invalid and to compel Mr. Holder to produce documents.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said the civil lawsuit “wastes taxpayer dollars and resources,” calling it a “distraction from the urgent business before Congress: Acting to create jobs and grow our economy.” She also said it was aimed at distracting the Justice Department from challenging state laws to tighten voting rules.

Washington Times

The Hysteria In Mexico Caused By Fast & Furious

by Mary Chastain 5 Aug 2012

 

 Deroy Murdock is right. America needs to remember how Operation Fast & Furious has affected Mexico. Operation Fast & Furious was a scheme the Department of Justice used to sell state of the art assault weapons to straw purchasers who would give them to Mexican drug cartels. These guns are connected to the death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry in December 2010 and hundreds of Mexicans.

But people aren’t just using these weapons to kill people. They’ve been used in injuries, kidnappings, and attempted homicides.

The most well known Mexican victim of Fast & Furious is Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez (above), a Chihuahua City lawyer. His sister was Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez, who at the time was the Attorney General of Chihuahua. A video surfaced of Mr. Gonzalez handcuffed in a chair and surrounded by armed masked men. In it he "confessed" his sister worked with the Juarez cartel. His body was found November 5, 2010 in a shallow grave.  A few days later the police had a shoot out with cartel members, arrested eight of them, and seized sixteen weapons. Two AK-47s were linked to Fast & Furious, but ATF Acting Attache Carlos Canino was not allowed to inform the Mexican government of the connection.
La Familia used Fast & Furious guns to take down a police helicopter. The cartel shot down the helicopter, injuring two officers. A raid by the Federal Police on La Familia left 11 dead and arrested 36 others. They found massive artillery, including several guns from Fast & Furious.

The Oversight Committee's July 26, 2011 report gives at least 48 separate recoveries involving Fast & Furious weapons. A letter from the DOJ to Chairman Darrell Issa and Senator Charles Grassley on September 9, 2011 gives in depth details on a few of those recoveries.

The largest recovery happened on November 20, 2009 in Naco, Sonora. 42 weapons, 41 AK-47s and 1 50 caliber, were linked to Fast & Furious.

Two AK-47s were recovered in Tubutama, Sonora on July 1, 2010. Two murders were linked to these weapons. One was coded “Homicide/Willful Kill – Gun” and “Firing a Weapon.” The other was also coded with “Homicide/Willful Kill – Gun.”

Four weapons were recovered on January 8, 2010 in Tijuana, Baja and traced with the crime code “Kidnap/Ransom.”

Two weapons were recovered on August 13, 2010 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango after a shootout. Their crime code was “Found Firearm.”

Three weapons were recovered on February 25, 2010 in Tijuana, Baja. Two had the criminal code “Homicide – Attempted” and one had a non-violent code “Found Firearm.” These guns are connected to the assassination attempt on then Tijuana Municipal Secretary of Public Safety Julian Leyzaola.

While America has been damaged by Fast & Furious, it's nothing compared to Mexico. 1,000+ guns are still missing, and until they're found the Mexican drug cartels will continue to use them to wreak havoc on Mexico.

Big Government

Senator Grassley Reveals Damaging Fast & Furious Memo

by Mary Chastain 4 Jul 2012

 

 Senator Charles Grassley wants answers from Attorney General Eric Holder about a memo that provides evidence of deliberate lies from the DOJ. On February 2, Senator Grassley’s investigators talked to Agent Gary Styers about his knowledge of Operation Fast & Furious. The following day Agent Styers sent out a memo about this conversation and it quickly spread through the ATF. However, on February 4, Assistant Attorney General Ron Weich sent a letter to Senator Grassley claiming guns were not allowed to walk. They had to withdraw the letter in the fall because it was a “false letter.”

Agent Styers documented everything discussed with the investigators. He knew all the agents in charge of Fast & Furious, but did not know the roles of individual agents. He described, in third person, his role in an operation regarding a transaction at a gas station (bold my emphasis).

“While positioning to observe the suspects, Special Agent Styers and other detailed agents were told by Special Agent [Hope] McAllister that agents were too close and would burn the operation. While the agents were repositioning, the transaction between the suspects took place and the vehicle that took possession of the firearms eventually left the area without the agents following it.”

The investigators asked Agent Styers about statistics and reporting. He claimed he didn’t know if anyone was trying to skew statistics. But he did want to know why he was being asked to trace firearms that haven't been recovered because the ATF has the Suspect Gun Database, which is for firearms that haven’t been recovered. Supervisor Voth wanted it done this way so if someone else traces the firearm they would know it was connected to Agent Styers’ case.

“Special Agent Styers relayed that even though he disagreed with the requested procedures, he followed the request of Group Supervisor Voth,” he wrote. He told investigators others were told to do the exact same thing.

At the end, the investigators asked Agent Styers about his impression of Fast & Furious and anything he felt was incorrect about the way it was handled. Agent Styers said Fast & Furious “had systematically divided and isolated agents from the group.” One case agent asked numerous agents advice about wiretaps and while they gave them their best opinions, the case agent largely ignored them.

Agent Styers went on to say “first and foremost, it is unheard of to have an actual wiretap investigation without full time dedicated surveillance units on the ground.” No ATF agents were assigned to surveillance.

People from other agencies may have done it, “but it seemed that either the case agent or Group Supervisor would poll the office for agents who were available to respond at short notice.” He also said it was “odd to have a majority of ATF Agents working on a wiretap investigation, who had never worked such a case.

Especially, when numerous, permanent Group VII agents and detailers had previous wiretap experience."
Senator Grassley states this memo quickly traveled through the ranks in the ATF from the Dallas Field Division to the Assistant Director of Field Operations Mark Chait at ATF headquarters the afternoon of the 3^rd.

But Congress never knew this memo existed until late 2011.

“According to ATF personnel, the memorandum was discussed by high level ATF personnel and possibly forwarded to DOJ headquarters on February 3, 2011,” wrote Senator Grassley. “Specifically, it has been alleged that individuals within the Deputy Attorney General’s (DAG’s) office and the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) at the Department were aware of or actually read the memorandum before the Department’s February 4, 2011, letter was sent.”

“The possibility that DOJ was aware of this memorandum on February 3, 2011, and still sent the erroneous letter to Congress on February 4, 2011, raises more questions about DOJ’s claim that faulty information from Department components inadvertently led to the false letter.”

Senator Grassley wants to know if all the records relating to this memo have been gathered and also which DOJ personnel received a copy and which ones knew about it.

Operation Fast & Furious is linked to the deaths of Border Patrol Agent and hundreds of Mexicans. 1,400 weapons are still out there.

Big Government

ATF Talking Point: Terry's Death 'Exact Reason Why We Must Continue'

by John Sexton

 
The ATF's public relations hoped to use Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's death in Operation Fast and Furious to promote the bureau's work, a newly released document shows.

Senator Chuck Grassley and House oversight chairman Rep. Darrell Issa sent a letter Friday to the Inspector General at the Department of Justice. The focus of the letter is the potential for retaliation toward two Fast and Furious whistleblowers, but in the course of expressing their concerns, Grassley and Issa reference ATF talking points about the death of Agent Brian Terry. At least one of the talking points seems designed to capitalize on Terry's death as a reason to further the very investigation which put a weapon in the hands of his murderer.

The document, which is added as an attachment to the Grassley/Issa letter, is dated 1/12/11. It is stamped with the ATF official seal and contains a warning in the header "Not for Public Dissemination/For Internal Use Only." It shows that the ATF was concerned about the appearance of the gun walking operation and especially its connection to Agent Terry's murder. The memo offers sample questions which reporters might ask, including:

Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry was shot and killed after he and his team encountered several suspects near Rio Rico, Ariz. At least four suspects are in custody while one is still being pursued. Was a gun trafficked in this case used in the murder?

Or

We understand that a firearm bought in connection with this ATF investigation was used to murder Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry. Can you please comment on this information?

To these sample questions the ATF provided four possible responses:

ANSWER: The death of Agent Terry in tragic and is a sad and dark day for all of law enforcement. We've lost one of our own. This is another example of the dangers faced by law enforcement every day across this country when pursuing these violent criminals.

ANSWER: Agent Terry's death is the exact reason why we must continue going after those who are determined to destroy the lives of so many innocent individuals in our communities by plying their illicit trade. For those who would say it is Mexico's problem, I say Agent Terry's death and all of those who have perished because of this violence prove that this challenge belongs to everyone.

ANSWER: The investigation into the murder of Agent Terry is active and ongoing. ATF has pledged its support and resources to bring to justice the perpetrators who are guilty of that crime. I won't say anything here today to jeopardize that investigation or the subsequent prosecution of those responsible for this terrible crime.

ANSWER: The murder of Agent Terry is a tragic loss that has been felt throughout the United States and underscores the dangers that law enforcement officers face every day. As the investigation continues into this heinous crime, our hearts go out to Agent Terry's family and his fellow Border Patrol Agents who continue to risk their lives to protect the citizens of our great Country.

The second answer above says Agent Terry's death is a "the exact reason" to support the ATF's gun trafficking  operations. But the Grassley/Issa letter reveals that the real motivation for the talking points was an email sent by Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix field office to Scot Thomasson, Chief of the ATF's Public Affairs Division. The email dated January 11th reads, "Just heard Melson's coming for the Fast/Furious press conf on the 25th. I hope he realizes how politically charged Arizona is right now especially regarding gun issues, was that way even before the Tucson shooting." The "Tucson shooting" is a reference to the January 8th shooting spree by Jared Loughner which left six dead and more than a dozen injured including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Putting a proper public face on Agent Terry's death is an effort the ATF began even before the congressional investigation into Fast and Furious. Given the months of stonewalling over claims DOJ was ignorant of the tactics used in the case and the more recent claims of executive privilege over documents related to the stonewalling, it's fair to say that effort is ongoing.

Big Government

Fraudulent and Foolish: ATF Agent on the Run from U.S. Government, Not Cartels

by Gary A. “Rusty” Fleming Jr. 25 Jun 2012

 Reckoning day is quickly approaching for the debacle known as Fast and Furious, but not soon enough for the family of CBP Agent Brian Terry and many other victims of the doomed federal gun sting operation, but it will get here soon. People closely related to the investigation have said that Fast and Furious was all part of an agenda that this administration had from the day Obama took office. The President made no secret of his desire to reinstate the assault weapons ban and other firearm restrictions, and he was going to do that by any means necessary. As it turns out, the drug war in Mexico was just the vehicle he needed.

Like a chess game, the pieces started moving into place when President Obama came out with the statement that “90% of the weapons the cartels use are coming from the United States,” referring to a June 2009 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to Congress on U.S. efforts to combat arms trafficking to Mexico.

I remember where I was when I first heard this; I had been in Juarez all day and was about to drive over the Bridge of the Americas back into El Paso when I listened to a press conference on my radio where Secretary of State Clinton made this statement. I had just taken a swig of water and when she said that; I spit all over my dashboard and through my nose in disbelief. “Are you kidding me?!!” I yelled. I’m sure the boys at the port of entry thought I was a crazy man because I was talking to myself and screaming at the radio all at once.

Any of us that have covered the cartels for the past few years knew that assertion was “90% B.S.” The statement was proven many times over to be false and misleading, but that really didn’t seem to matter to anyone in the administration. However, they did quit talking about it in public.

Then comes Fast and Furious. I have spoken to many of the agents and other insiders directly related to the F&F investigation, including one of the agents overseeing the OP. Every ATF agent I have spoke to has told me virtually the same thing--that to allow those “guns to walk” went against everything they had ever been trained or taught to do. And, in fact, they were not made aware that these guns were going to be allowed to walk until the last moment. The operation was deliberately designed and executed as to not allow anyone, including the agent in charge, to know the end game.

Several ATF agents have since left the agency. Some were quickly transferred and promoted to Washington and other parts of the country—even Mexico. The point is, if the agents on the ground were allowed to talk, which two have so far, it would lead to the steps of the Attorney General Holder’s office and, as it turns out, the White House, as evidenced by the President claiming Executive Privilege over the matter.

I have a source that works for the Juarez cartel and its subsidiaries--Barrio Azteca gang, La Linea, etc. At the that time, he was in charge of weapons procurement, and more recently he worked with ATF agents on the F&F operation as an ATF informant. He carries dual citizenship and spends a great deal of time in El Paso, but he will not anymore.

When I met with him to talk about the F&F Op, he told me that he would not be crossing over back into the U.S. When we did finally meet outside of Juarez, he explained to me that his involvement with the F&F Op had put his life and the lives of family in danger. Oddly enough, it wasn’t the cartel he’s afraid of. He’s more afraid of what the U.S. government will do to him because of the information he has. Nearly one half of the weapons that were allowed to walk came thru the El Paso corridor, and he was instrumental in that process. But now he’s on the run from the same people that paid him to do what he did.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where all of this is going. The Constitution of the Unites States is slowly but surely eroding at the hands of the very people that swore to protect and defend it. I can only hope that enough of us will stand up in November and take the power away from those that are abusing it to enact their own agendas.

Big Government

Voters Disapprove of Obama Blocking Release of Fast & Furious Docs

by John Nolte 25 Jun 2012

 

   
Though the 2-to-1 margin is higher than I expected, there was little doubt President Obama's decision to invoke executive privilege to prevent the release of documents that might shed some light in the Fast and Furious scandal was a bad political move.

This is what makes the President's decision so troubling.

What's in those documents that makes paying the political price worth it?

Because our media has protected Obama by refusing to cover Fast and Furious, voters aren't anywhere near as educated on the story as they were, say, the nothingburger that was Valerie Plame. But for decades, executive privilege has been synonymous with Watergate and cover ups.

From the looks of this poll released today, it still is:

The Hill Poll found that likely voters disapproved by an almost 2-to-1 margin of Obama’s assertion of presidential power in the case. Overall, 56 percent of voters disapproved of his action, while only 29 percent approved. …

Sixty-one percent of independents said they disapproved of the president’s actions, and just 25 percent approved. Among Republicans, opposition to the president’s use of executive privilege was more entrenched at 78 percent.

Even 28 percent of Democrats, and 30 percent of self-identified liberals disapproved of Obama’s position.

After the President invoked executive privilege, the media was forced to cover a story it had strenuously covered up for a year. In response, the media attempted to paint the President's move as a fight against a renegade Republican Congress playing political games during an election year. Not only does this poll prove that tactic failed, my guess is that these numbers will get worse as people start to ask, "What the heck is Fast and Furious?"

Our government flooding thousands of guns into Mexico, a few hundred dead innocent Mexicans and two dead American law enforcement officers later -- the President is only going to find himself in more trouble.  

Contrary to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney's absurd statement that the President's first ever use of executive privilege was a "principled" move meant to protect the need for an administration to know its policy conversations will remain private (a perfectly valid use of executive privilege), no one believes that's the case here. Or if they do, they wonder what in the world needs to be protected about a failed policy. Even so, executive privilege is only considered a truly valid move when it comes to national security issues.

What's especially troubling, though, is that the use of executive privilege in the case of Fast and Furious opens up a new line of questioning about how much Obama knew about a scandal that the White House claims it was unaware of until hearing about it on the news.

Over the weekend, I suggested that a super PAC needs to be started if we're ever going to get all the facts out to the public. Like the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth 2004 ad campaign, we need to go around the media in order to report truths the media will never tell. Most importantly, we need to let voters know that the most likely and logical motive behind this indefensible gunrunning operation was the Obama Administration's desire to cause chaos in order to push gun control.

This poll shows the people are ready to listen. 

 Big Government

Afterburner with Bill Whittle on Fast and Furious

President Obama personally inserted himself into the Fast & Furious gun walking scandal after he extended executive privilege over certain DOJ documentation. Was the Fast & Furious a botched scandal, or a deliberate effort to undermine the Second Amendment? Find out as Bill Whittle explores the ideological motives behind the Fast & Furious scandal.

Fast and Furious Falling Apart

June 21, 2012
By Russ Vaughn

When BATF agents first blew the whistle on what is now known as Operation Fast and Furious, the rationale offered by DoJ for such an evidently foolish operation was that it was designed to allow BATF to track and prosecute the leaders of the Mexican drug cartels.  As more information surfaced from the Mexican government and the BATF's Mexican bureau chief specifying that none of them knew anything of this operation, many of us who were paying a bit closer attention to the case immediately smelled the first foul scent of corruption.

The fatal flaw in DoJ's explanation was this: if the Mexican authorities had not been brought into the operation, nor even the BATF's own agents authorized to operate in Mexico, then the proffered DoJ justification made utterly no sense, for the simple reason that once those walked guns hit the south side of that border, there was absolutely no process in place to track them to their supposed targets.  Therefore, DoJ was patently  misrepresenting its motive.  Why?

For those who keep a constant wary eye on the left's never-ending war on our 2^nd-Amendment right to keep and bear arms, the increasingly fishy smell emanating from Washington led to connecting the dots back to the year-earlier revelations in the liberal media that weapons being used in Mexican crimes were traceable back to American sources more than 90% of the time.  That false meme had spread quickly through the major liberal media, along with calls for stricter gun control laws in this country by...guess who!  How about our president, our secretary of state, our attorney general, and other notable Democrats, for starters?

Here we had an operation mounted by the executive branch of the United States, an operation which had as its stated goal -- after being outed, that is -- the targeting of Mexican drug lords on sovereign Mexican soil. 

 Yet this was done without the knowledge of anyone in the Mexican government.  Quite clearly, a secret and subversive operation had been conceived and implemented against our sister nation to the south -- subversive because, again, quite clearly, the American government was subverting the sovereign authority of Mexico without that nation's knowledge.  If the goal was, as stated later by DoJ, to track guns into Mexico to the purchasing sources in the cartels, then was there not some diplomatic requirement to notify  the Mexican government that we were arming their most violent criminal elements?  And what was the need for keeping our own BATF agents in Mexico -- the only American agents with Mexican presence to conduct such surveillance and tracking operations on Mexican soil -- equally in the dark?

It doesn't require much in the way of deductive powers to conclude that the fish-wrap smell seeping out of Washington probably had to do with Eric Holder's Department of Justice being used to tightly wrap something rotting from the head down.  And what could that be?  Early proponents of the theory suggesting that if the DoJ's rationale smelled fishy, then perhaps the true reason for F&F was to create justification for more gun control legislation here in this country were looked at as crackpot conspiracists.  Even now, most of those Republican members of Congress pursuing this scandal refuse to cite the true purpose of F&F, still referring to it as a bungled federal program.  There are exceptions: Florida congressman John Mica speaking on one of the Sunday talk shows this weekend, made clear his opinion that F&F was a sinister and cynical attempt by the Obama administration to undermine the 2^nd Amendment.  I watched him say it, but Google has no link.  Imagine that.

For those who haven't really followed the Fast and Furious scandal, here's a five-step summary of how the operation was supposed to work:

1. Allow guns to flow freely to criminal elements in Mexico, where they are naturally used in the extremely violent and deadly criminal activities of the drug cartels.
2. When sufficient guns of American origin have been used in such criminal activities, enlist the willing services of the liberal media to announce the discovery thereof to the world.
3. Enlist multiple prominent Democrats to untruthfully proclaim that 90% of the guns used in Mexican crimes originate in the U.S.
4. Use steps one through three to substantiate the liberal fallacy that private gun ownership leads to increased gun violence by gun owners.
5. With the compliance of a thoroughly duped American public, enact increasingly restrictive gun ownership policies through federal agencies, bypassing Congress and the Supreme Court.

When looked at this way, doesn't Obama's statement to a group of gun control advocates in March 2011 that he was taking steps to further gun control restrictions, but "under the radar," now seem less cryptic than it did at the time?  For those who still don't believe Fast & Furious was an end-run on the 2^nd Amendment by a liberal, gun-averse administration, here are five questions to consider:

1. Could the possibility that this plan was concocted at the very top of the administration, putting it on par with Watergate, explain Eric Holder's entrenched refusal to release the tens of thousands of documents being sought by congressional investigators?
2. Is the liberal media's refusal to investigate this scandal due to the fact that they suspect that the acts of this administration may rise to criminal and impeachable offenses?
3. Has the reluctance of the Republican leadership to more aggressively support the House investigation been attributable to the same possibility -- that full exposure could lead straight to the Oval Office and the politically unsavory possibility of impeachment of the nation's first black president?
4. Does anyone really think an ambitious politician like Holder would risk career-ending contempt of Congress charges to protect some incredibly stupid subordinates who supposedly, all by themselves, planned and implemented such a boondoggle?
5. In an administration known for its quickness in throwing friends and associates under the bus in matters of self-preservation, is it not remarkable that rather than being so dispatched by Holder, many of the key players in F&F have been promoted despite denials by their bureau?

If all this sounds like a bit too much to swallow, consider the political origins of the key players in the current administration.  All are products of the Chicago political machine, a thoroughly Democrat movement particularly hostile to the concept of citizen gun ownership as demonstrated by the some of the nation's most restrictive gun ownership laws being in place there.  And to prove the folly of those laws and the liberal fallacy that disarming the citizenry reduces crime, here's a quite recent headline from that bastion of conservative thought and opinion, Huffington Post: "Chicago Homicide Rate Worse Than Kabul, Up To 200 Police Assigned To High-Profile Wedding (Video)."

We are quick to blame the  policies and activities of the Mexican drug cartels for their nation's murder rate being among the highest in the world.  Is it not then fair to apply the same blame to those who control a city with some of the most restrictive gun ownership laws in America, which are yielding gun-death fatality stats almost double the total casualty rate for American troops in the Afghan war zone?  It is the total and vise-like hold the Democrat machine has on Chicago that has made this city the riskiest place in America for law-abiding citizens, turning them into helpless, unarmed sheep at the mercy of roving, well-armed, predatory wolves.

 Doesn't Chicago sound a lot like Mexico to you?

Never lose sight of the real reason why liberals want to confiscate your guns.  Liberals assert that government is the protector of all our freedoms, and therefore we need not be concerned with protecting ourselves and our loved ones.  The folly of that assertion can be refuted with one word: Chicago.  But the true reason for wanting an unarmed public is because such a citizenry is powerless in the face of armed government and therefore compliant.  Liberals and Democrats know full well that the key to unrestrained governing is to first disarm the citizenry.

American Thinker

Media Obsessed with Watergate, Not Fast and Furious

by Ron Futrell 

 If you want to see a liberal media member's head explode, compare Fast and Furious to Watergate. If you want to see an entire newsroom freak out, say that Fast and Furious is worse than Watergate. The Activist Old Media has spent this month celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Watergate. Make no doubt about it, they are celebrating. They worship at the alter of Woodward and Bernstein for two reasons. 1) They took down a Republican President. 2) The media broke the story. Nothing can replace this perfect storm in their minds. Those are also the reasons why the media will not give Fast and Furious the attention it deserves.

With a Democrat in the White House and his reelection on the line, this is the absolute worst time for a scandal like this to blow up. The story of Eric Holder and the contempt vote must run after a hot day in June, as it was treated by ABC World News Tonight.

Also, since bloggers broke this story, the Activist Old Media cannot take ownership and create shrines to fellow "journalists." CBS says that Sharon Atkisson broke the story, but it was on the 'net before it went to the Network. Certainly, Atkisson has done a great job on this story – so good that she was yelled at by Holder's lackeys. She was the first network news reporter to do the story, partly because the other networks have been historically absent on it, until now. But, no network "broke" this story, as they claim. It's a brave new world out there on the internet, and the Activist Old Media is doing everything it can to ignore and diminish that fact. Blind by choice.

There are many elements that make Fast and Furious #WorseThanWatergate. Brian Terry's death and the deaths of 300+ Mexicans should be first on that list. Nobody died in Watergate. It was a botched burglary of Democrat campaign headquarters by Republican operatives. Then came the Richard Nixon cover-up. We have always been told the cover-up was worse (which it was), and it brought down a President. In Fast and Furious, both the operation and the attempted cover-up are scandalous.  Holder has already lied many times to Congress, and now Barack Obama has become the first President to use Executive Privilege to keep secret documents he claims he has never seen. The media can't see the historic relevance here, because they don't want to see it. Blind by choice.

Concocting a scheme to put the most dangerous hand-held weapons on the planet in the hands of Mexican drug cartels should be enough to bury anybody and everybody responsible. Congress wants to see how far this scandal goes up the food chain, and they have been blocked at nearly every turn. Oh, Holder has turned over some documents, but it is clear there is more out there that this administration is hiding, or why the Executive Privilege? I guess that part is hard for the Activist Old Media to figure out. They are busy popping the champagne corks on 40-year-old Dom.

Big Journalism

Family of Slain Border Agent to Holder: We Deserve the Truth

by Mary Chastain 

  Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s mother and father released a statement today on President Obama’s executive privilege. 

“Attorney General Eric Holder’s refusal to fully disclose the documents associated with Operation Fast and Furious and President Obama’s assertion of executive privilege serves to compound this tragedy. It denies the Terry family and the American people the truth.”

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry “was killed by members of a Mexican drug cartel armed with weapons from this failed Justice Department gun trafficking investigation. For more than 18 months we have been asking our federal government for justice and accountability. The documents sought by the House Oversight Committee and associated with Operation Fast and Furious should be produced and turned over to the committee. Our son lost his life protecting this nation, and it is very disappointing that we are now faced with an administration that seems more concerned with protecting themselves rather than revealing the truth behind Operation Fast and Furious.”

Agent Terry was shot on December 14, 2010 and he died the following day. Fast & Furious has also claimed the lives of over 300 Mexicans.

Josephine Terry appeared on Philadelphia Talk Radio 1210 WPHT today. She was asked about President Obama asserting executive privilege over the Fast & Furious documents.

“The only thing I can say is, if he did that they apparently don’t want Issa to get the documents to see what’s in there. My son and I were very, very close,” she said. “And my son was a person that believed in justice and he believed in telling the truth. He was a man of his honor.

And if anybody knew him, they knew that. And I know he would be saying ‘you know what, I died for my country.’ He was a true American and I think he deserves the truth and I think everybody should know the truth. And if this was a bad thing they did with Fast and Furious it should be acknowledged so it never happens to anybody else’s son.”

UPDATE: Holder found in contempt. The vote came down along party lines, 23 Republicans in favor of contempt and 17 opposed.

Big Government