Posted on 06/07/2012 10:04:52 PM PDT by neverdem
Big news about the Obama Administration's “Fast and Furious” scandal broke earlier this week, when the House Oversight committee finally got its hands on some of the documents it subpoenaed long ago – specifically, a set of wiretap applications that prove high officials at the Justice Department were very well aware of the deadly “gun walking” tactics that put American weapons into the hands of Mexican drug cartel killers. Attorney General Eric Holder has always maintained that knowledge of these tactics did not reach the upper echelons of his department.
The revelation of documents shredding Holder's claims stirred some in the Republican leadership to begin taking the idea of filing contempt of Congress charges against the Attorney General more seriously. Justice sent a letter to the House Republican leadership on Tuesday, offering to work out a deal for releasing some of the “Fast and Furious” information covered by those long-defied subpoenas. As House Oversight chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said in an angry letter challenging Holder's honesty, it's increasingly clear why he doesn't want congressional investigators to see the documents he is refusing to hand over.
It turns out that Issa didn't get those bombshell wiretap applications because Holder suddenly decided to comply with the subpoenas, and dribble out some useful material. It seems the House Oversight committee has a “mole” in the Justice Department, who surreptitiously gave the wiretap documentation to House investigators.
In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Issa said he would not reveal the identity of his source for the documents, pointing out that other “Fast and Furious” whistleblowers have experienced retaliation from their superiors, particularly at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives:
On Thursday, The Hill reported that Justice is angry about the document leak, although no decision about finding and punishing the mole has been made yet:
“Chairman Issa's letter makes clear that sealed court documents relating to pending federal prosecutions being handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California have been disclosed to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in violation of law,” wrote Deputy Attorney General James Cole to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Issa this week.
“This is of great concern to us,” the letter added.
There isn't much chance that Justice will file any sort of charges against Issa or the rest of the House Oversight Committee, but the whistleblower who handed over the sealed documents could be prosecuted, and ultimately imprisoned. House Oversight members have been careful not to release specific information from the sealed documents to the public.
Leaving the mole alone would make Justice look bad. The Attorney General's excuse for defying congressional subpoenas has always involved claiming that an internal DOJ investigation into Operation Fast and Furious is still ongoing (and has now ostensibly been in progress far longer than the investigation into John F. Kennedy's assassination.) Also, he says the requested documents are relevant to ongoing criminal prosecutions, which would be ruined if judicial seals on the documents were violated.
If either of these defenses is to be taken seriously, the whistleblower has jeopardized both the fabled “internal investigation” and those criminal prosecutions, so he or she must be found and punished. It remains an open question who the Justice Department might still be trying to prosecute in relation to Fast and Furious, since one major component of the outrage is that most of the high-value targets were already well-known criminals. Some of them actually turned out to be FBI informants. Several were caught and released by ATF on multiple occasions. How can every scrap of the paperwork mountain House Oversight wants Holder to hand over be tied up in an active criminal case that was in progress over eight months ago, when the subpoenas were issued, and is still percolating along today?
On the other hand, if Justice roots out the House Oversight source and levels serious charges, it's likely to enrage both members of Issa's committee and the Republican leadership. It might even draw the attention of a press corps that has generally worked very hard at not noticing the Attorney General of the United States misleading Congress to cover up an operation whose true goals remain the subject of debate, and whose result was hundreds of dead Mexican citizens, plus slain American law enforcement agents.
It is vitally important to learn who initiated this program, and why. It's equally important to pin down exactly when top Justice officials, including Eric Holder himself, became aware of "gun walking" tactics, and why they didn't put a stop them instantly. It could not be more clear that Holder will never produce documented answers to those questions voluntarily.
If that whistle blower doesn't immediately step into the public eye, they'll soon become an 'unfortunate' statistic, and no one will be the wiser.
"Could'a happened to anyone in this town, you know? That's really too bad. Joe had such a promising career ahead, too."
Once they're in the light, and letting everyone know that they fear for their life, the creeps will have to back off. It would look mighty suspicious for them to suddenly wind up dead, even if their death couldn't be linked back to you-know-who. This person has to know that the people they're dealing with, play for keeps.
Anybody see tough guy Issa on Great this evening?
In true Holder fashion, when Greta repeatedly asked him what he was going to DO, he turned out not to be a “good witness” - simply dodging any real answer to her question.
Sad and laughable at the same time.
An Act of War.
That would be another accurate name for it. Yes, indeedy!
Hold out for the hope that Issa and Boehner may be stalling for time, to pop this case right on time, commonly known as October Surprise, right before the election. Issa may have more than this. He may have a lot more. I pray so.
Issa is the hunter not the prey. Hunters don’t generally advertise where they have laid their traps.
It should not be too difficult for Holder to determine the identity of the mole by the process of elimination.
Wouldn’t firing Holder be an admission of malfeasance? Malfeasance that certainly involves the president?
You are assuming that a scorned Holder would keep his mouth shut. I can see Issa offering him immunity that would allow Holder no jail time and a book deal that would make him millions.
When it’s a Dem in a situation like this, it is a “Whistle Blower” and Sacred. When it’’s a Republican, it’s a dirty, filthy, EEEEEVIL M-O-L-E....
It’s also a shame that there’s only ONE patriot mole!! PATHETIC...there should be hundreds.
Holder knows where bodies are buried......Bammy isn’t going to get rid of him, he’ll have to quit on his own.
REALLY??/ Boehner???? What do you want to happen??
“Let’s call it what it is. State-sponsored terrorism.”
Let’s also not forget the state-sponsored racism of Holder’s dismissal of the New Black Panther voter intimidation case.
A world powers government has not engaged in this depth of evil since the Third Reich.
It’s a travesty that congress will never ensure that this New Negro Nazi party will not be judged and punished at its own Nuremburg.
No offense but one teeny correction.
They weren't part of 'The Machine', But they are Marxists and that's where they got their backing. Barry's Hyde Park - Kenwood 'hood' has been home to those cockroaches since the -- beginning of time (Axelrod is from this group, he's a Red Diaper Baby). And they fought 'The (Daley) Machine' since day one.
Case in point: Barry's first political sponsor was Alice Palmer. A dem in name only but a Card Carrying Commie who bled USSR RED to the core.
Now as to the 'kid' mayor Daley and 'his machine', he didn't back Barry until Barry had won the Dem Senate Primary - Barry beat 'The Machine' guy in a shocker. Oh, guess who Barry threw under the bus to win his first election ... time's up ...yep .. Alice Palmer, his '1st sponsor'.
You'll have to excuse me, but now I have to go wash in lye for 'defending Chicago' (my home town).
These people always got a pass in the press even though they were commies. As they were of that certain color-race or religion, which shall not be 'demonized' in any manner.
I’m shocked!!!!
The DOJ is upset that Sealed court documents are leaked to the public.
The DOJ is not upset that military secrets, and details of covert operations, are leaked to the media.
The DOJ was not upset when Ryan, a Political opponent of 0bama, had his sealed Divorce records released to the public.
Shocked I tell you!!
Agreed.
Further, Holder and 0bama must be sweating about Which documents have been supplied to Issa.
Look forward to future 0bama references to his “son’s”, then new references about UFO’s, unicorns, etc
When they are tossed out of office, can you imagine them ever going out to a public restaurant or event ever again in the future?
Can you imagine them ever visiting Arizona to do random touring?
Feel any better?
You realize, of course, that you are talking about aiding the Sinaloas...who are the enemy of the Drug Lords you claim that the CIA was arming.
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