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“Fast and Furious” Blows Sky-High
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/07/fast-and-furious-blows-sky-high.php ^ | 7/6/11 | John Hinderaker

Posted on 07/06/2011 3:29:47 PM PDT by macquire

This morning, there was a stunning development in Congress’s investigation of the Justice Department’s “Fast and Furious” gun-running program: it was revealed that on July 4, Kenneth Melson, the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Obama administration’s intended fall guy in the scandal, broke ranks with his superiors. Without their knowledge, he gave an interview to Darrell Issa’s House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, accompanied only by his personal attorney. While a transcript of that interview is not yet public, it is clear that he blew the whistle on senior officials in the Justice Department.

(Excerpt) Read more at powerlineblog.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bafte; banglist; batf; corruption; democrats; doj; dojisajoke; fastandfurious; federalcriminals; govtabuse; gunwalker; holder; impeachablecrimes; issa; kennethmelson; mexico; obama
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To: All

Holder will resign.
This WILL be a thorn in obama’s election side....(does that make sense?)


221 posted on 07/07/2011 11:49:56 AM PDT by Maverick68
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To: NVDave

Notice how different this is from Nixon? They’ve all learned a lot about investigations and Issa’s a genius and getting solid cover from Senator Grassley, but I still suspect there’ll be a Deep Throat out there helping guide this investigation. Obama’s made a lot of enemies. Saudi Arabia doesn’t have more friends in DC than money can buy.


222 posted on 07/07/2011 12:06:02 PM PDT by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: Popman

Well, who knows. Maybe this time will be different and we will be proven wrong, to the country’s benefit.

Hey, people win the lottery, right? Ha. I knew a guy that won $4.5 million (about 20 years ago in FL). Went from $17k a year to $17k a month. Poor dumb ass, he made a pretty bad mess of it. Should have given the money to me and saved himself the grief.


223 posted on 07/07/2011 12:06:39 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s ( If you can remember the 60s....you weren't really there)
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To: macquire

A lot of people seem to be involved in the Gunwalker / Gun Control scandal. Any evidence of people on the Mexican side coordinating with this?


224 posted on 07/07/2011 12:35:05 PM PDT by Mr. Peabody
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To: 1010RD

Yes, I’ve noticed that Issa and Grassley have learned a thing or two. Most conspicuous is their lack of trying to pander to the press. They’re just slowly working their way forward, building a case, flipping witnesses into whistleblowers, forcing the DOJ to disgorge documents, etc.

When the MSM finally covers this, it will be because they’re *forced* to... it will be too big to ignore. It won’t be because there are salacious details that make people get their naughty bits in a dither. If Issa and Grassley stick to their current plan, this will develop a spreading case that takes in much of the DOJ and Holder.

The difference between prior scandals and this one is that there is a solid paper trail. The gun dealers in question are co-operating. The field agents in question are coming forward. The people closest to the facts are coming forward, and they’re all on one side of the issue. This isn’t like Whitewater, where the people closest to the facts either died, or went to prison for non-cooperation with the DOJ. There is full documentation and evidence that gun X was bought by a criminal, in a criminal transaction,that the ATF field agents raised an alarm, the gun dealer in question raised an alarm, that higher ups said “let it go” and then gun X was later used in the commission of a murder.

That’s inescapable now. No one is going to be able to use the Hillary “I can’t recall” defense.

The numbers of crimes and murders are only getting worse as the investigation spreads.

The stakes on this one are high enough that no one is going to fall on their sword for Holder and Obama.


225 posted on 07/07/2011 1:00:47 PM PDT by NVDave
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To: macquire

Grassley interview starts at about the 24:00 mark:

http://www.whoradio.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=simonconway.php&mid=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/DESMOINES-IA/WHO-AM/WHO-07-06-1600.mp3?CPROG=PCAST&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=DESMOINES-IA&NG_FORMAT=&NG_ID=&OR_NEWSFORMAT=&OWNER=&SERVER_NAME=www.whoradio.com&SITE_ID=1165&STATION_ID=WHO-AM&TRACK=


226 posted on 07/07/2011 1:18:10 PM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (Real hope and change comes in January 2013)
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To: DManA
Fast and Furious-gate.

Yes, easily.

227 posted on 07/07/2011 1:44:26 PM PDT by b4its2late ("Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8")
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To: samtheman
"I’m amazed this story is not on Drudge."

He has been disappointing on coverage of the forged birth certificate also.

228 posted on 07/07/2011 1:46:54 PM PDT by OK
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To: OK
“I’m amazed this story is not on Drudge.” Not much attention be talk radio either. Sean the dope is still licking his Anthony fetish and arguing with sub humans about Zero . It could be that some of their hero's have dirty hands as well.
229 posted on 07/07/2011 2:01:37 PM PDT by fantom (,)
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To: Nachum
Thanks for the ping.

Here is some more information from another thread today.

Operation Gunrunner was funded by the 2009 Stimulus Package

The original bill H.R.495 - Southwest Border Violence Reduction Act of 2009 never got out of committee. This operation was then funded with stimulus money. The sponsors of the bill are the usual suspects.

Mr. RODRIGUEZ (for himself, Mr. TEAGUE, Mr. ENGEL, and Mr. REYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

Harry Teague lost his seat in the last election. The other three democrats are the heart and soul of the Brady Campaign in congress. Posting all of this for the record.
230 posted on 07/07/2011 2:23:16 PM PDT by PA Engineer (SP/AW12: Time to beat the swords of government tyranny into the plowshares of freedom.)
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To: macquire

“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. “


Normal people go to jail for this.


231 posted on 07/07/2011 4:11:56 PM PDT by Personal Responsibility (if there were a little more of me around we'd all be better off.)
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To: ponygirl

I’ve read that upwards of 150 Mexican citizens have been killed by walked guns.

This is an act of war. As you said, it’s far beyond “gate.”

That’s why I say Gunwalker equals Watergate times Irancontra.


232 posted on 07/07/2011 4:14:16 PM PDT by Travis McGee (Castigo Cay is in print and on Kindle.)
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To: OK

What gives? I don’t get it. I can even partially understand (well, not understand, but, you know, sort of accept) on the BC thing (doesn’t want to be called “fringe”, blah, blah, blah).

But THIS! This is NOT FRINGE! This is a WHISTLE BLOWER for crying out loud.

Matt Drudge, please, clear the sh*t-for-brains, wake up, smell the coffee and COVER THE D*MN STORY!


233 posted on 07/07/2011 4:31:41 PM PDT by samtheman
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To: cookcounty

OTOH, he’s smart enough to realize he hasn’t a SAG card and doesn’t want to be the “fall guy” in the President Obama/Holder soaper either. I’m sure his lawyer advised his “overhead cover” was due to expire in September. Melson is also “smart enough” to get his licks in first. Getting his testimony/evidence on record during a holiday weekend, when the OA’s bureaucratic stooges were partying was the master stroke of an experienced career bureaucrat.

I agree the DOJ, FBI and DHS, (among others) are in the deep end. Were this a GOP administration there’d be a real s**t storm in the lame-stream media. Instead we’re seeing almost nothing from the henhouse. (nobody here but us chickens)

BTW, Mssrs Dave Codrea and Mike Vanderbreogh have broken yet another story line on OFF. They report a proven source alleges a lot of arms were moved through FL to a Central American nation destined for the drug cartel.
http://sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com/ >PS


234 posted on 07/07/2011 4:48:11 PM PDT by PiperShade
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To: mrspeelwerneeded

Only way to hold them accountable is make this a campaign issue. It will have to be mentioned every day during the campaign because the media and this administration think they can do and get away with everything.


Totally agree, but will the wimpinsteins on our side make it so or will they wimp out? Palin may. Perry may. Bachman may. I doubt Romney will.


235 posted on 07/07/2011 6:42:32 PM PDT by CincyRichieRich (Keep your head up and keep moving forward!)
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To: macquire

it won’t matter if no media makes a stink...

the tree falling with no one to hear does not make a noise.

there will be no consequences.

unfortunately.

ugh.

t


236 posted on 07/08/2011 1:41:27 PM PDT by teeman8r (armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world.)
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To: AAABEST
Is there any means for a significant sum of money to be taken from one agency and given to another without the executive (i.e. Obama) having any knowledge?

Depends on what you mean by "significant." While I was in the Air Force, there were times I spent Army or Navy money, and vice versa. However, in all cases it was within the law, and was done by agreement between the respective Commands. So long as it complied with the reason for the appropriation, it didn't need to go higher than the Commands involved.

In the case in question, it doesn't appear that money was transferred between agencies. Instead, FBI money was given to Mexicans to buy guns, and the ATF tried to track the guns (at least that's their story) without knowing the money came from the FBI.

237 posted on 07/08/2011 5:10:42 PM PDT by JoeFromSidney (New book: RESISTANCE TO TYRANNY. A primer on armed revolt. Available form Amazon.)
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To: Tucsonican
In other words, Holder/Obama will blame Bush.
238 posted on 07/08/2011 10:12:20 PM PDT by MacMattico
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To: Osage Orange

The MSM asks the harder questions?

Since when? ...................................... Errrr, that only applies to Conservative Republicans.


239 posted on 07/09/2011 8:18:32 AM PDT by Bringbackthedraft (ea. a month)
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To: Bringbackthedraft

Nothing is too outlandish to get away with in the minds of the progressive liberals in power.

We fail to realize the extent of their intent. Which is bring America down. Broke and without adequate defense and under tyranny.

Truth!


240 posted on 07/09/2011 10:44:42 AM PDT by geologist (The only answer to the troubles of this life is Jesus. A decision we all must make.)
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