Posted on 06/17/2011 10:52:32 AM PDT by Qbert
Watergate cliches though they are, two questions beg to be asked about the exploding Fast and Furious scandal at the U.S. Department of Justice: What did Attorney General Eric Holder know and when did he know it concerning the underlying concept, operational protocols and legal status of the Operation Fast and Furious program in the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms bureau?
Those questions gained special relevance Wednesday when four ATF agents testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and squarely contradicted a Feb. 4, 2011, claim by a department spokesman that DOJ did not approve of the program that sanctioned the illegal sale here in America by legitimate gun dealers of assault weapons to representatives of Mexican drug cartels. The idea behind the program was that the hundreds of firearms thus sold would then be traced from specific crimes, thus enabling prosecutions of the individuals involved.
The agents testified that Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley, a Phoenix-based appointee of President Obama, "orchestrated" Operation Fast and Furious. ATF Phoenix field office supervisor Peter Forcelli, for example, told the committee: "I have read documents that indicate that his boss, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, also agreed with the direction of the case." That direction was established sometime after Obama was inaugurated in 2009 when Phoenix ATF agents, breaking with long-established agency practice, were ordered to monitor, but not stop, gun sales to suspected gun traffickers. The agents testified that Phoenix ATF supervisor David Voth "was jovial, if not, not giddy, but just delighted" when Fast and Furious guns were subsequently recovered at multiple Mexican drug busts. And emails released Thursday by Rep. Darrell Issa,R-Calif., revealed that acting director Kenneth Melson even arranged to watch live feeds from ATF cameras in gun stores being used by the program while sitting at his desk.
But delight turned to devastation on Dec. 14, 2010 when two Fast and Furious rifles were found at the scene of Border Agent Brian Terry's murder approximately 18 miles inside the U.S. border with Mexico in the Arizona desert. The program ended the next day. Special Agent Larry Alt told the committee that Terry's death was the entirely foreseeable result of Operation Fast and Furious: "You can't allow thousands of guns to go south of the border without an expectation that they are going to be recovered eventually in crimes and people are going to die." There had also been panic among ATF officials when news first broke that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., had been shot because they feared the weapon used might be one of those sold via Operation Fast and Furious.
Documents released by the Issa panel make it clear that Operation Fast and Furious was well-known and enthusiastically supported at the highest leveIs of ATF. That means the program had to have been supported elsewhere within the Justice Department. Thus, it is inconceivable that Holder did not know about Operation Fast and Furious. But even if he didn't know, he clearly should have. Either way, Wednesday's hearing provided the latest evidence that it's past time for Holder to go.
The operative word here is
‘should, or should have’
but not likely.
Holder must go. ATF should have been disbanded after Waco. Get rid of it.
This shouldn’t stop with Holder. His boss should be gone, too.
What about a special prosecutor?
there is more to this !
This is the chance to get the facts, all the facts.
Response: Agreed that it "should" but recognizing that it will not. (He should have never been allowed in government to begin with!)
Elijah Cummings (D) just n FOX recalling the fact stated in teh hearing Wednesday that 1/3 or so of the Fast and furious guns were likely shipped to cities within the U.S. He added (typically for a Dim ocrat) we need more “gun laws” to deal with this.
In other news, the Palestinian Authority is investigating reports of murders of Jewish settlers.
The Waco hearings should have ended Janet Reno’s job as well.
Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over, but expecting different results.
All of the exitement here about “Gunwalker” finally bringing down the corrupt administration is quite frankly, insanity.
So true. Holder needs to go allright. Straight to Leavenworth Prison. The ATF needs to be shutdown and defunded.
Everyone is cautious about using the word “Conspiracy” now since it was so overused a few years ago.
But this clearly IS a CONSPIRACY, by senior managing agents of DOJ and BATFE to create justification for clear infringements on our second amendment confirmed RIGHT to own and bear arms.
The “F” portion of BATFE has had a clear but unwritten policy of undermining our RKBA from before ATF’s inception, going back to the ATU days and false testimony leading up the NFA Act of 1934.
This policy has been pursued without interruption through every administration since!
Only the zeal of BATFE management to connive varies, if the President is not on board with these schemes BATFE lies low and only “Enforces” current law with incremental steps taken to tighten regulation by new “Interpretation’s” of “Rulings”.
When we get an anti-RKBA president like Carter, Klinton, or Barry Hussein Soetero, anything goes with a wink, and everything will be tried in an effort to reach their goal of confiscation.
The libs over at KOS won’t even admit that F&F began under Obama in October 2009, what makes anyone think they, and their media minions, are going accept that it was an OBAMA APPOINTEE running it???
You're dreaming.
You got it!
“Elijah Cummings (D) just n FOX recalling the fact stated in teh hearing Wednesday that 1/3 or so of the Fast and furious guns were likely shipped to cities within the U.S. He added (typically for a Dim ocrat) we need more “gun laws” to deal with this.”
Facepalm.
Holder should have been prosecuted for lying about his part in Klintoon’s great pardon sale.
Holder and Zero both need to be removed.
Bears repeating, but the last two words of the sentence were apparently inadvertantly omitted. They were "to prison".
Obviously, people are trying to get rid of him because he’s black.
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