Posted on 07/07/2011 7:40:58 AM PDT by Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!
The Justice Department is obstructing the congressional investigation of a U.S. law enforcement operation intended to crack down on major weapons traffickers on the Southwest border, according to the embattled leader of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Ken Melson, the acting director of the ATF, lobbed the accusation when he sneaked in for an interview with congressional investigators on July 4, two days ahead of his scheduled interview with the inspector general about the operation known as "Fast and Furious," Fox News has learned.
"If his account is accurate, then ATF leadership appears to have been effectively muzzled while the DOJ sent over false denials and buried its head in the sand," Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said in a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Eric Holder. "That approach distorted the truth and obstructed our investigation."
The Justice Department is reportedly looking to oust Melson, who has been acting ATF director since April 2009, as the agency deals with its biggest scandal in nearly two decades. Andrew Traver, who was tapped in November by President Obama to become the permanent ATF director, could be named as acting director until the Senate acts on his nomination, sources have said.
Continue reading at Foxnews.com
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It is unbelievable how the media and I believe the NYTimes are seemingly covering for Obama and his Justice Dept. by not headlining this story as it really is; Holder obstructing justice.
Enquiring minds want to know!
I smell what Issa’s cooking......and it smells delicious!
Very good question. At this stage it is obvious and I am sure Issa has all the evidence needed (he traveled to Mexico with a bipartisan committee) that Obama and Holder knew about this and they ordered it. Forrest Gump could figure this out.As of now Holder lied in sworn testimony claiming he had not known about this until two weeks before he appeared before Issa’s committee. Perjury and Obstruction for Holder and his Assistant AG. Obama will say he was not under oath and Holder will go under the bus.I do believe this is all serious enough for Holder to sing re: Obama. Melson is singing.
The administration is currently digging up dirt on this guy and will do anything to destroy his reputation and credibility. I hope his family is prepared for what's headed their way.
This is sort of like when the Nazis brought to light the Soviet atrocities at the Katyn Forest massacre.
You mean like Van Jones did?
oh, wait.....
I've not had a kind thing to say for him in the past, but I agree with you. While I suspect he's fighting against becoming the fall guy, I'll pray for him that he finds the integrity and moral courage to be forthright and honest through all that comes against him. Ultimately, it will be in his best interest to do so.
And he didn't.
Perhaps Obi will send Melson on a fact-finding mission to Michoacan?
There they go again, premptively legitimizing ATF's presumed version of their motivation before the investigation is complete!
How do we know, till we've actually DONE the investigation, that the intent was not explicitly to gin up fake "evidence" for the left contention that it's the fact that we still have rights that's fueling Mexico's crime problem? And isn't it journalism's responsibility as the watchdog over government infringements of our liberty, to make the LEAST charitable assumption till proven otherwise, while being clear that at that point it IS just an assumption?
The part of this which still irritates me is the news still gives them credit for good intentions even now that it is pretty clear that they were not trying to trace guns.
They were sending so many guns into Mexico so they could bolster their claim that 90% of crime guns in Mexico come from the U.S.
True, but it may not be his choice. He might get carried there after committing suicide by shooting himself three times in the back of the head.
Exactly the point I made in my #15. Those news stories might end up robbing the investigation of any impact or any ability to show the statists up for what they are. People might walk away from this at the end, if they have any impression at all, it might be that this was a noble idea with a flawed implementation. And the honest guys at the lowest levels, who are actually the heroes of the story, might end up the ones everyone assumes screwed up.
I also want to know how a whistle blower that testified got fired. As well as Melson needs to be in a witness protection program; but what do you do when the ones that he is being protected from have full access to where he is because they are the AG and POTUS?
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