Posted on 07/30/2012 6:18:30 PM PDT by kristinn
Republican congressional investigators have concluded that five senior ATF officials -- from the special agent-in-charge of the Phoenix field office to the top man in the bureau’s Washington headquarters -- are collectively responsible for the failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation that was “marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy.”
The investigators, in a final report likely to be released later this week, also unearthed new evidence that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix initially sought to hide from the Mexican government the crucial information that two Fast and Furious firearms were recovered after the brother of a Mexican state attorney general was killed there.
According to a copy of the report obtained Monday by The Times, the investigators said their findings are “the best information available as of now” about the flawed gun operation that last month led to Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. being found in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents.
Two more final reports, they said, will deal with “the devastating failure of supervision and leadership” at the Department of Justice and an “unprecedented obstruction of the [congressional] investigation by the highest levels of the Justice Department, including the attorney general himself.”
The first report did allege some Justice Department involvement, however, notably that Kenneth E. Melson, then acting ATF director, was made into a “scapegoat” for Fast and Furious after he told congressional Republicans his Justice Department supervisors “were doing more damage control than anything” else once Fast and Furious became public.
“My view is that the whole matter of the department’s response in this case was a disaster,” Melson told the investigators.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I don’t know what to think.
I am too pissed to think.
But I bet in a month we will hear no more from Mr. Issa.
Hope not. Why would they take the fall and destroy their careers and reputations (such as they are for ATF guys)? If they do someone needs to look at their bank accounts for large deposits.
Yup... exactly. Anothed bend over and “thankyou sir may i have another”.
I think you’re right. This is not the end of reports, just the ATF portion, DOJ to follow.
Issa has been a bulldog on this for a long time. He’s not gonna let go.
Funny..they came out of Phoenix....ARIZONA!
hMMMM..
It’s also a big deal that this is an LAT story.
I see this event as very good news for those following the F&F scandal.
I agree, yet you really have to read the whole article to get the most important parts. They like to bury those and not focus on them, but they are reporting it nonetheless.
Yep. You are so right.
Same reason the spineless pubbies did the the whole Lewinsky thing. They didn’t have the stones to deal with *treason* in the White House.
A bunch of enablers. May as well have committed the crimes themselves.
#20 nails it. If there is any other explanation that even remotely makes sense, I’d like to hear it.
What I don’t understand is how so many people can watch as others get thrown under the bus and then stand in line for the same treatment. Maybe this is like a person who dates an adulterer and thinks “he/she won’t cheat on me.”
>>Issa has been a bulldog on this for a long time.<<
There never was any intention of sending anyone to prison. The was a dog and pony show which gave the far right conservatives something to hold on to while Zero and his crew ripped the Constitution to shreds.
As long as a few people held a shred of hope that justice would be delivered and Holder would be jailed they would resist putting Zero and crew on trial for treason.
Guess what? IT WORKED! A simple distraction stunt held the FR.com website at bay. That what the Dims will call successful mission.
The better choice? The feds set them up? The easy way out? Were promises made?
Fact is they were likely guilty of numerous things and were reckless performing their duties etc, possibly caught lying etc.
Could be they set up after the lid popped off and the agent was killed? That would have been easy.
Who knows?
What will be interesting to see, if any criminal charges are brought against these 5 participants.
“’My view is that the whole matter of the department’s response in this case was a disaster,’ Melson told the investigators.”
Such as it is...
I’m finding it really hard to read this article for all the noise and fumes from the bus...... Yo, patsy-boys, are you under there??
I’m finding it really hard to read this article for all the noise and fumes from the bus...... Yo, patsy-boys, are you under there??
ping
You DO have a way with words. ;oD
I agree, And the really sad thing is that those really responsible will skate by laughing
Ping. Thanks.
The initial report sounds suspiciously like a "shot across the bow".
Obviously, there is more to come. And this initial report, naming names and assigning responsibility, may well elicit some key witnesses to become "talkative".
Being in an optimistic frame of mind, I agree with you.
The Republicans are not total idiots when it comes to the game; they know keeping the issue alive is critical to the election.
Somebody's liable to talk.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.