JUST DO IT!
Posted on 10/07/2011 1:55:06 PM PDT by ColdOne
Attorney General Eric Holder, in his most forceful comments to date about the gunrunning probe known as "Fast and Furious," defended himself Friday in a letter to Congress and accused his Republican critics of making "irresponsible and inflammatory" claims.
The Justice Department released the letter late Friday. It was addressed to top Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and comes in the wake of GOP calls for a special counsel to be appointed to investigate Holder's involvement.
Republicans have released routine memos that appear to show Holder was notified about details of the program as early as summer 2010, though he testified to Congress that he only found out in early 2011.
Holder stood by his claims in the letter.
"I have not spoken at length on this subject out of deference to the review being conducted, at my request, by our Department's Inspector General. However, in the past few days, the public discourse concerning these issues has become so base and so harmful to interests that I hope we all share that I must now address these issues notwithstanding the Inspector General's ongoing review," he wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It would be more appropriate if Holder was sending his letters from a prison cell and collaborating with his bunkie Zero.
“Let me guess.. “Racists!””
Besides affirmative action, that is all that worthless
“racist” bastard has.
The Honorable Darrell E. Issa
Chairman
Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 205 15
The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, DC 205 10
The Honorable Lamar S. Smith
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 205 15
The Attorney General
Washington, D.C.
October 7,20 1 1
The Honorable Elijah Cummings
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Oversight
and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
Washington, DC 205 10
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 205 15
Dear Messrs. Chairmen and Senator Grassley, Congressman Conyers, and
Congressman Cummings:
I have watched for some months now as the facts surrounding Operation Fast and Furious have
been developed on the public record. I have not spoken at length on this subject out of deference to the
review being conducted, at my request, by our Department’s Inspector General. However, in the past few
days, the public discourse concerning these issues has become so base and so harmful to interests that I
hope we all share that I must now address these issues notwithstanding the Inspector General’s ongoing
review.
For example, I simply cannot sit idly by as a Majority Member of the House Committee on
Oversight and Government Reform suggests, as happened this week, that law enforcement and
government employees who devote their lives to protecting our citizens be considered “accessories to
murder.” Such irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric must be repudiated in the strongest possible
terms. Those who serve in the ranks of law enforcement are our Nation’s heroes and deserve our Nation’s
thanks, not the disrespect that is being heaped on them by those who seek political advantage. I trust you
feel similarly and I call on you to denounce these statements.
I also want to be very clear that protecting American citizens from the devastating effects of gun
violence is among the most important responsibilities of the Department of Justice. Likewise, ensuring
that weapons sold here do not flow south to Mexico is of paramount importance. We are committed to
disrupting and dismantling the organizations that traffic weapons across our borders and I am proud to
Page Two
stand with our brave law enforcement officers who fight every day to protect our citizens and those of
Mexico from the effects of gun violence and illegal gun trafficking.
A. Fast and Furious was a Flawed Response to a Serious Problem on the Southwest
Border
According to ATF, it took into evidence nationwide approximately 35,000 firearms in FY 201 1.
In FY 2010, the number was approximately 37,500. During that same period, ATF reports that it took
into evidence nationwide over 5 million rounds of ammunition. Still, the Southwest Border remains the
front line in the battle against illegal gun trafficking. ATF and our prosecutors struggle mightily to make
cases against gun smugglers and do outstanding work on a daily basis in an effort to stop the flow of guns
across our borders.
Notwithstanding the seriousness of the problem faced on the Southwest Border, there is no doubt
that Operation Fast and Furious was fundamentally flawed. Regrettably, its effects will be felt for years
to come as weapons that should have been interdicted but were not continue to show up at crime scenes in
this country and in Mexico. This is both tragic and completely unacceptable. I want to be very clear that
we must aim to disrupt and dismantle the dangerous cartels that operate south of our border. That said, in
our pursuit of that goal we must take all steps possible to prevent guns from crossing our border and the
desire to bring cartel leaders to justice does not and cannot justify losing track of dangerous weapons.
For that very reason, in 201 1, after the controversy about this matter arose, I took decisive action
to ensure that such operations are never again undertaken. First, I referred the matter to the Department’s
Inspector General for review so the facts underlying it could come out. Second, I instructed the Deputy
Attorney General to reiterate to our prosecutors and law enforcement components that Department policy
prohibits the design or conduct of undercover operations which include the uncontrolled crossing of guns
across the border. In addition, new leadership is now in place both at ATF and in the United States
Attorney’s Office in Arizona. It has become clear that the flawed tactics employed in Fast and Furious
were not limited to that operation and were actually employed in an investigation conducted during the
prior Administration. Regardless, those tactics should never again be adopted in any investigation.
B. No Knowled~eo f Fast and Furious’ Misguided Tactics
Much has been made in the past few days about my congressional testimony earlier this year
regarding Fast and Furious. My testimony was truthful and accurate and I have been consistent on this
point throughout. I have no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious or of hearing its name prior
to the public controversy about it. Prior to early 201 1, I certainly never knew about the tactics employed
in the operation and it is my understanding that the former United States Attorney for the District of
Arizona and the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of ATF have told Congress that they,
themselves, were unaware of the tactics employed. I understand that they have also told Congress that
they never briefed me or other Department leadership on the misguided tactics that were used in Fast and
Furious. Of course, that is not surprising for, as Chairman Issa made clear in an interview on CNN just
this week, even the former Acting Director of ATF “has said he didn’t know about” the tactics being used
in the field by his agency.
Page Three
In the past few days, some have pointed to documents that we provided to Congress as evidence
that I was familiar with Fast and Furious earlier than I have testified. That simply is not the case and
those suggestions mischaracterize the process by which I receive information concerning the activities of
the Department’s many components. On a weekly basis, my office typically receives over a hundred
pages of so-called “weekly reports” that, while addressed to me, actually are provided to and reviewed by
members of my staff and the staff of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. The weekly reports
contain short summaries of matters that the agencies deem of interest that week. Sometimes, the
summaries are simply a sentence-long and other times they consist of a paragraph. In some cases, the
summaries are of policy-related issues or upcoming events. In other cases, the summaries are brief, highlevel
reviews of pending matters or investigations. It is important to look at the documents supposedly at
issue here and, for that reason, I have attached them to this letter and am making them public in the form
they previously were provided by us to Congress. Please note that none of these summaries say anything
about the unacceptable tactics employed by ATF.
Attorneys in my office and in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General review these weekly
reports and bring to my attention only those matters deemed to require my consideration or action; given
the volume of material to which I must devote my attention, 1 do not and cannot read them cover-tocover.
Here, no issues concerning Fast and Furious were brought to my attention because the information
presented in the reports did not suggest a problem. Rather, the entries suggest active law enforcement
action being taken to combat a firearms-trafficking organization that was moving weapons to Mexico.
For example, the ATF weekly report for July 19-23,20 10 briefly described the seizure in Phoenix of 73
firearms and 250 AK-47 drum magazines from a local business as part of Operation Fast and Furious,
again with no mention of any unacceptable tactics.
If a component of the Department has concerns about a particular matter, there are established
avenues for raising them with my office or that of the Deputy Attorney General and a weekly report is not
one of them. As Attorney General, I am not and cannot be familiar with the operational details of any
particular investigation being conducted in an ATF field office unless those details are brought to my
attention. That did not happen with Fast and Furious until the public controversy arose in 201 1.
Senator Grassley has suggested that I was aware of Operation Fast and Furious from letters he
provided to me on or about January 3 1,201 1 that were addressed to the former Acting Director of ATF.
However, those letters referred only to an ATF umbrella initiative on the Southwest Border that started
under the prior Administration — Project Gunrunner — and not to Operation Fast and Furious.
To be sure, during 2010 I knew generally that ATF was conducting gun trafficking operations
along the Southwest Border and elsewhere in the country since that is a core part of its mission given the
large number of firearms flowing to Mexico each year from the United States. I also was aware of the
existence of Project Gunrunner. More specifically, however, I now understand some senior officials
within the Department were aware at the time that there was an operation called Fast and Furious
although they were not advised of the unacceptable operational tactics being used in it. For example, I
understand that we have provided to Congress materials from a March 2010 monthly meeting between the
then-Acting Deputy Attorney General and senior ATF officials that included discussion of Fast and
Page Four
Furious. That meeting, of course, occurred shortly before Chairman Issa received his own briefing
regarding Fast and Furious from some of the same ATF officials. I am aware that Chairman Issa has said
that he was not briefed on the unacceptable details of Fast and Furious. Like Chairman Issa, the then-
Acting Deputy Attorney General was not told of the unacceptable tactics employed in the operation in his
regular monthly meetings with ATF to discuss its activities throughout the United States and abroad.
C. Congress Has Failed to Consider Whether Additional Tools Are Needed to Stem the
Flow of Guns into Mexico
ATF witnesses testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that
the agency’s ability to stem the flow of guns from the United States into Mexico is severely impaired by a
lack of effective law enforcement tools. For example, a number of witnesses indicated that current
penalties for illegal straw purchases are inadequate to deter such activity or to induce cooperation with
law enforcement authorities after a violation is detected. Likewise, the lack of reporting requirements for
multiple long gun purchases in a short period of time hindered law enforcement efforts to combat gun
trafficking. Yet, the House of Representatives has voted to block a rule that requires such reporting on
the Southwest Border.
As I have said, the fact that even a single gun was not interdicted in this operation and found its
way to Mexico is unacceptable. Equally unacceptable, however, is the fact that too many in Congress are
opposed to any discussion of fixing loopholes in our laws that facilitate the staggering flow of guns each
year across our border to the south. I cannot help but note that at the same time that some members of
Congress understandably criticize the Fast and Furious operation, they vehemently refuse to consider
whether ATF has the resources and legal tools it needs to do its job — tools that would be entirely
consistent with the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.
A telling moment in this regard came during one of the Fast and Furious hearings held by the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform when Representative Maloney sought to
question an ATF witness about potential reforms to our laws that would help stem the flow of illegal
weapons. Representative Maloney was cut-off in mid-sentence by Chairman Issa, who then “cautioned”
the witness that it would not be “valid testimony” to respond to such questions because the Committee
was not interested in “proposed legislation and the like[.]” While failing to interdict weapons is an
unacceptable tactic to stop the flow of illegal weapons, it seems clear that some in Congress are more
interested in using this regrettable incident to score political points than in addressing the underlying
problem. Even in the face of an unprecedented flow of guns across the border, too many in Congress still
oppose every effort to reform our gun laws in ways that would make the United States and our Mexican
neighbors safer.
Page Five
Until we move beyond the current political climate — where real solutions take a back seat to both
political posturing and making headlines on cable news programs, and is deemed more important than
actually solving our country’s difficult challenges — nothing is going to change. I hope we can engage in
a more responsible dialogue on this subject in the future. There is much we all need to do together to stop
gun violence on both sides of the border and make our Nation safer.
Sincerely,
\
Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Enclosures
Obviously a stupid move. Never refute something that can’t be refuted with more lies — ON PAPER! Holder should be toast. Lets make sure his feet are held to the fire on this one.
Thank you for posting his letter!
OCR'd version in 23.
pdf here.
http://www.foxnews.com/interactive/politics/2011/10/07/holder-letter-to-congress-on-fast-and-furious/
Holder is a guy who likes to defend terrorists rights. He is used to manipulating technicalities of the system.
“that law enforcement and government employees who devote their lives to protecting our citizens be considered “accessories to murder.”
Hey, punk, we be talkin’ boutchyou.
I can dream, can't I?
5.56mm
Methinks he doth protest too much.
I hope Issa doubles down.
Squirm Holder. Squirm!
Eric waited until Friday afternoon of a 3-day weekend to send this “scathing” letter. I guess he didn’t want a timely response.
Maybe it is a pre-emptive strike, because that CBS reporter that the White House tried to silence was interviewed today: she has “much more” to come on Fast and Furious.
Let’s see, the possibilites are: Eric didn’t read the 5 memos, he didn’t listen to his Deputy AG when he was briefed about the memos, he knew about Fast and Furious but was too stupid to do something about it, or, he knew about \Fast and Furious and agreed with the program.
It sucks to be Eric Holder.
Should we start an Eric Holder Resignation Timer?
He is just hiding behind them. That’s all he can do at this point. Pretty pathetic attempt if you ak me.
Ha, the old Friday night statement dump thingy.
Did anyone think he was going to own up?
“Awesome - only liars act outraged like this - if accusations aren’t true why sweat it? I guess there’s fire beyond the smoke.”
I was going to post essentially the same comment. You beat me to it. His letter is a diatribe that reeks of a cover up. Quite telling is the complete lack of outrage at his own people for supposedly not informing him about what he himself refers to as unacceptable tactics.
My comment from another thread;
Check the date and contents of this Holder speech;
Attorney General Eric Holder at the Mexico/United States Arms Trafficking Conference
CUERNAVACA, MEXICO ~ Thursday, April 2, 2009
Remarks as prepared for delivery.
First, let me express my thanks to Attorney General Medina Mora and Secretary of Government Gomez Mont for making this conference possible.
This is my first trip to another country as Attorney General. I wanted to come to Mexico to deliver a single message: We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in this fight against the narcotics cartels. The United States shares responsibility for this problem and we will take responsibility by joining our Mexican counterparts in every step of this fight.
And, together, we will win – thanks in large part to the courage of my Mexican colleagues here today, who are on the front lines every day, and with whom I am proud to collaborate.
The topic that has been addressed over the past two days could not be more important – the development of an arms trafficking prosecution and enforcement strategy on both sides of the border.
“Let me guess.. ‘Racists!’”
Second guess: Bush’s fault.
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