Holder loses cool during House hearing when asked about Fast and Furious

The Daily Caller ^ | 29 February, 2012 | Matthew Boyle

[marktwain]

A visibly frustrated Attorney General Eric Holder slammed the table when responding to a question about Operation Fast and Furious during a Tuesday budget hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.

“That was a fundamentally flawed program, fundamentally flawed,” Holder said of Fast and Furious. “And, I think that I can agree with some of my harshest critics that there are legitimate issues that need to be explored with regard in which the way Fast and Furious was carried out.”

“But, I think one thing that also has to be understood is that once this was brought to my attention” — Holder said before slamming his hand on the committee room table he was sitting at — “I stopped it. I stopped it.”

During an interview with Fox News host Megyn Kelly shortly after Holder’s comments, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa — the lead congressional investigator into the Fast and Furious scandal with Sen. Chuck Grassley — said he and others in Congress don’t think Holder is telling the full truth.

“Well, certainly one of the reasons we doubt the legitimacy of that claim is, on Feb. 4 [2011], we received what was in fact an untruthful, a lie, a false letter that has now been retracted,” Issa said. “Lanny Breuer, one of his chief aides and number three at Justice, was in Mexico lobbying for more gun-walking. Additional evidence shows that [U.S. agent] Jaime Zapata was killed with a similar program weapon. In other words, this was a policy change that happened and continued up until fairly recently. We need to get to the bottom of it.”

In addition, Issa said that if Holder wants to show he’s cooperating with the congressional investigation and is interested in really ending gun-walking, he’d fork over the rest of the lawfully-subpoenaed documents he’s still hiding from Congress. (RELATED: Full coverage of Eric Holder)

“The inspector general at Justice has 80,000 pages and we have 6,000 pages, but even in those 6,000 pages we find damning evidence that high-ranking people in Justice knew all along and not only didn’t stop this program, but believed in it,” Issa said.

Fast and Furious was a program of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, overseen by Holder’s DOJ. It sent thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels via straw purchasers — people who legally purchased guns in the United States with the known intention of illegally trafficking them somewhere else.

At least 300 people in Mexico were killed with Fast and Furious weapons, as was Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. The identities of the Mexican victims are unknown. Allegations have surfaced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata was also killed with Fast and Furious weapons. Many members of Congress have demanded Holder’s resignation or firing over the scandal, arguing that he either should have known about it, or did know about it and is trying to cover up the evidence. They also point to how nobody has been held accountable for the operation more than a full year after the DOJ provided false information to Congress, and even longer since Terry was murdered.

As the two lists don’t perfectly overlap, 103 members of the House have called for Holder’s resignation, signed an official resolution of “no confidence” in Holder, or both. Three U.S. senators, two sitting governors and all major Republican presidential candidates have called for Holder’s resignation or firing, too.

NEXT: Holder shifts blame to Bush DOJ

[marktwain]

Video at the link.

[marktwain]

Gunwalker ping.

[SoFloFreeper]

Ooooh! She slammed the table?! Panties in a wad, Erica?

[reefdiver]

Once were past the primarys, this will be an issue that will be hung around the obama criminals neck, and it will stink like rotting meat.

[Donnafrflorida]

Kind of like the outrage at the Fannie Mae hearings with Maxine waters Dodd meeker n Franks. “Why are you wasting our time. Frank reined is doing a fine job.” Then housing collapsed.

[Jacquerie]

Our reps will not force the issue with Obama/Holder until we, the sovereign people demand it.

If you haven't contacted your Congress-clown, do it. If you have, do it again.

[equaviator]

Let’s call a spade a spade here, shall we? If it was so damned FAST and FURIOUS then why are they calling it gun-walking. It seems to be more of a case of gun-RUNNING, doesn’t it?

[ebshumidors]

Join operation #efad and get the free kindle download right now. We’re trying to hang this around Holder’s neck. http://www.enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/EFADcomm.htm

[bcsco]

This is a ping list promoting Immigration Enforcement and Congressional Reform.
If you wish to be added or removed from this ping list, please contact me.

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[aces]

yep, laws only apply to peasants...

[aces]

Its OK, Obammma mamba jamma lenin khomeini is just arming his insurgent force..

[LibLieSlayer]

These ball-less, nut-less sorry sacks of monkey poop will do nothing to holder. THIS IS A DOG AND PONY SHOW TO KEEP US FOCUSED ON OUR BELLY BUTTON FUZZ! The gop/e are a joke... but HEY CONSERVATIVES... AS LONG AS WE ALLOW THEM TO LIE TO US... AS LONG AS WE PLEDGE UNDYING LOYALTY TO THE LIBERAL GOP/E... THE LONGER WE ARE THE SLAVES OF THE PROGRESSIVE republican ELITE! I despise them just slightly less than the rat infestation that resides across the aisle.

LLS

[yldstrk]

Looks like he just put the side of his hand down on the table to me.......

[MestaMachine]

How could he stop what he swears he didn't know about?

[Joe Brower]

Ooooh... Holder "slammed the table". Wow. I hope he didn't damage his manicure.

What a shallow, transparent charade this whole affair has been.

[Venturer]

Just so everyone understands.

We are working under the radar for gun control.

That flight under the radar was operation Gun Walker.

It was designed and used so that Obama in a speech could say that we needed more gun control because Mexicans were getting American guins and they were being used by drug cartels.

The plan came out of the White House and was placed into operation by Holder.

[Bigg Red]

You described it perfectly.

And this administration has many plot lines in motion for scenarios that will have the American people asking the Obamination to protect us through increasing its power.

[Jack Hammer]

“But, I think one thing that also has to be understood is that once this was brought to my attention” — Holder said before slamming his hand on the committee room table he was sitting at — “I stopped it. I stopped it.”

Pure, unadulterated bullsh*t.

[norwaypinesavage]

The guy is a pro. Slam the table and feign innocence is a perfect Alinsky tactic.

[blackdog]

What? No Kruschev style shoe pounding? His defensiveness oozes guilt as any lawyer recognizes. What an affirmative action moron. He should have been nailed to the wall on Waco. Not doing so only emboldened him.

Why do these people hate the South so?