“Fast and Furious” Blows Sky-High

Powerline ^ | July 6,2011 | Edward Morrissey

[Hojczyk]

This morning, Issa and Senator Charles Grassley released a letter that they sent yesterday to Attorney General Eric Holder. It is explosive, to say the least. You should read it in its entirety; here are some excerpts:

Yesterday, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson participated in a transcribed interview regarding Operation Fast and Furious and related matters with both Republican and Democratic staff. He appeared with his personal counsel, Richard Cullen of McGuire Woods LLP. His interview had originally been scheduled through the Justice Department to occur on July 13 in the presence of DOJ and ATF counsel. As you know, however, under our agreement Department witnesses who choose to attend a voluntary interview with their own lawyer are free to exercise that right rather than participate with counsel representing the Department’s interests.

After being made aware of that provision of our agreement, Acting Director Melson chose to exercise that right and appeared with his own lawyer. We are disappointed that no one had previously informed him of that provision of the agreement. Instead, Justice Department officials sought to limit and control his communications with Congress.

Issa and Grassley link the Obama administration’s effort to slide Melson out of his position, making him the fall guy for the Fast and Furious operation, with Melson’s complaints to Deputy Attorney General James Cole, the number two official in the Department of Justice, about DOJ’s failure to respond adequately to Congress’s requests for information about Fast and Furious:

However, two days after he told Acting Deputy Attorney General Cole about serious issues involving lack of information sharing, The full transcript of Melson’s testimony, when released, will be a fascinating document. In the meantime, it appears clear that the Fast and Furious scandal reaches to the very top of Barack Obama’s Department of Justice.

[oldbrowser]

The incompetent Mexican government could easily be brought down by the narco terrorist with the help of the socialists in Washington. Then with the help of the interest parties, the newly installed rogue government next door could help strike the final blow against the already weakened American government. The majority of it's citizens being self absorbed, drug addicted, or dependent on government would not realize the danger until it was too late.
My paranoia sees subversive plans by the Obama Administration behind every innocent mistake.

[frogjerk]

I can’t get this smile off my face.

If it’s still there after 4 hours, who do I call?

THOMAS:"You rang?"

[Dick Bachert]

While swearing they’re both pure as nuns,
seems Obozo and Holder ran guns.
Down to old Mexico
did these firearms go
and their hubristic plot simply stuns.
Dick Bachert

[little jeremiah]

The only way to kill a snake is to cut its head off.

---

I rather suspect that gutting it and then roasting it over a fire with the head attached would kill it pretty well. Let’s try.

---

YES!!! I vote for your method.

[rockinqsranch]

bflr

[Roccus]

I want to make sure that it is widely known that this program had the specific goal of advancing unpopular gun control laws in America.

THAT will absolutely not happen. (see tag)

[Gator113]

THAT is cruel.

I would sooner bobbit....

[blasater1960]

I want to believe....but I am skeptical. I can just picture the RINOs coming to the rescue. After all....it would be “mean” to blow up the Obama admn during a financial crisis/sarc.

[Army Air Corps]

Send Holder to a Mexican prison.

[dead]

The whole thing was obviously a very stupid idea but why keep digging the hole deeper?

I think it may be the motivations behind the program that they are still trying to cover up.

If evidence exists that dozens of Mexicans, and an American border control agent, were killed by guns provided by the ATF to foreign drug gangs, in an effort to swing public opinion towards more gun control, then the coverup attempts will all make sense.

Heads will roll, but more importantly to the left, gun control efforts will suffer a once-in-a-generation level set back.

[Uncle Miltie]

"Mr. Melson also said he was not allowed to communicate to Congress the reasons for the reassignments. He claimed that ATF's senior leadership would have preferred to be more cooperative with our inquiry much earlier in the process. However, he said that Justice Department officials directed them not to respond and took full control of replying to briefing and document requests from Congress. The result is that Congress only got the parts of the story that the Department wanted us to hear. 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. That approach distorted the truth and obstructed our investigation."

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

It should be the end of Rat Face Holder, but I'm not holding my breath.

[shield]

Maybe, we can turn these men over to Mexico [Holder and Zero]. They can be put into those terrific prisons Mexico is known for.

[sportutegrl]

It reads like ATF is going to try and pin this on the FBI.

[Seizethecarp]

“The incompetent Mexican government could easily be brought down by the narco terrorist with the help of the socialists in Washington.”

Mexico = the soft underbelly of the United States for:

Pancho Villa
The Kaiser
Hitler
USSR
Ahmadinejad/Chavez
Al Qaeda

Now for Odumbo, too???

[rdcbn]

The Holder Justice Dept is misusing Executive Privilege to cover up serious misconduct on the part of the Obama Administration.

A lot of the government appointees and career employees who are following the Holder gag order are very high level, experienced and sophisticated. They know they are at the very least in the grey areas of obstruction of justice and they have a lot to lose.

Issa has laid down a marker that the time is running out for these people at DOJ, ATF, FBI, DHS and others to come forward and break the Holder stonewall to cover up what has happened.

Issa directly stated it's time for those involved to tell what they know and they are formally legally allowed to do with with their own lawyers as part of Issa’s agreement with Holder on this issue (ie they cannot hide behind the “I was told to follow Executive Privilege by Holder and not come forward) , or be liable for at least obstruction charges, and possible other criminal charges, soon when things get serious.

Given that the ATF Director has now turned state's evidence those involved know they have been outed, that Issa probably has the cookie crumbs to road map the paper trail which will contain some pretty damaging disclosures and that they are now forced to choose between coming forward with their lawyers are per the Issa/Holder agreement or facing conspiracy to obstruct justice charges once it is too late to come forward.

This will be very interesting. At the very least, Holder's crew are already been caught lying about who knew about this operation.

[Emperor Palpatine]

[Zeppo]

"As you know, obstructing or impeding a Congressional inquiry is also a criminal violation under 18 U.S.C. § 1505."

Note that such violators: "Shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both."

Of course, when the head of the Justice Department is corrupt and implicated in the obstruction, who is going to ensure that the law is upheld?

See http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00001505----000-.html

Also, for the aforementioned definitions of international or domestic terrorism, see http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002331----000-.html

I am not a lawyer, but IMHO the reasons behind the alleged obstruction skate pretty close to those definitions.

[Sea Parrot]

It has landed here on ABC News, and Fox just did a story on it, CBS has been on it for weeks.

This is now getting so big and more legs than a centipede, the other LSM will be forced into going with it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/alcohol-tobacco-firearms-chief-ken-melson-clean-atf/story?id=14009585

[Fresh Wind]