ATF interim head Ken Melson has been itching to testify before Rep. Issa’s committee so that he isn’t turned into a convenient fall guy, even hinting that he could say interesting things about his boss, AG Eric Holder. Now there’s word that he will testify, but it’s thanks to a deal between Sens. Grassley and Leahy.
Grassley and his fellow Republicans were given full access to ATF documents, Melson, and other key witnesses; and in return, Grassley agreed to release three Obama administration nominees he had been blocking, according to correspondence obtained by NEWSWEEK and THE DAILY BEAST.
Tactically, this is very smart on the part of the Republicans and we need to see more of it. It works like this: Senator A puts a hold on X number of Obama nominees, which Senators can do for any reason. Keep that hold in place as long as the administration stonewalls on Gunwalker or another issue the Senator is working. Release the hold once you get the administration to play ball. That’s what Grassley has apparently done here. It sounds like hostage taking, but as long as the administration is going to ride roughshod over Congress’ authority and oversight, Congress has to use what powers it has to force the administration to open up. The confirmations process, which the Democrats militarized over Robert Bork back in the 1980s, is fair game.
Gunwalker is a big deal. Not only did it lead directly to the death of a US Border Patrol officer; guns from the operation have turned up on US streets. And as Bob Owens has written, it looks like it may have been a political operation to soften support for Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Owens handicaps the possible outcomes from Melson’s testimony, which range from Melson taking the fall to meltdown in the DOJ. Stay tuned.
The WaPo will be working overtime tonight trying to dream up some ludicrous way to spin this for Obama. Oh, the carbon footprint!
Smart move by a Republican? Perhaps. But “smart” and “Republican” can rarely be used in the same sentence, since they seem to excel at pulling a loss out of a sure win most of the time.
Who are these three appointees and for what posts had they been nominated? I assume they weren’t being held up just in case they needed hostages. Maybe it was because they were totally committed leftists like Obama loves to nominate and put in critical positions.
The new media should have just kept pounding away at this issue until the pressure on the old media forced them to do their jobs and actually cover it as well. Then the pressure would have been on Holder to give in without the Rs giving up anything.
The role of the MSM is to do exactly what you guys are doing, exposing the dirty rotten scoundrels and their dastardly deeds thus little we “great unwashed” can be told the truth. Keep it coming baby!!!
“Maybe it was because they were totally committed leftists like Obama loves to nominate and put in critical positions.”
Hard to think of a Obama nominee that shouldn’t have been held up.
We the People should declare both Majorly Crooked Parties “Terrorist Groups”, and vote only for 3rd Parties. Personally, I am in terror at the thought of either of these Majorly Crooked Parties in control. No matter who wins, it always results in BIGGER, more expensive intrusively abusive Government. Insanity is described as doing the same thing over and over again, always expecting different results. It is time yet for a change in who we put in power? DownsizeDC.org
I think that Obama will take the fall for this and will not run again. Many Democrats fear for their jobs right now and the last thing that they need is a highly disliked candidate as the Democratic nominee! The Democrats and the MSM will not hesitate to use him as an “offering” to show how “non-partisan” they are.
This is not a positive development. Whenever the words “Grassley,”Leahy” and “agree” occur in the same sentence you know something tragic has happened.
Grassley gives up whatever pressure he was exerting by blocking the three nominees and Melson agrees to testify . . . next month. By then the whole “Gunwalker” story (which the major media isn’t interested in following anyway) is likely be “old news” and any limited momentum the story had will be dead. Melson will probably have resigned by then. For a congressional hearing during the summer dolrums to make much stir Melson would have to accuse Obama and the AG of devil worship to even make the front page.
Every day, in every way, Grassley shows he has been in Congress too long.
Grassley = Charlie Brown
Leahy = Lucy
Gunwalker evidence/testimony = Football
We all know how that football thing turned out.
Holder’s ass is on the line. There will be no cooperation as they continue to lie about how fully they are cooperating. Holder will turn this bloody scandal into a constitutional crisis before he will resign. Only if Obama decides the issue is damaging his re-election bid will Holder be forced out, and expect the battle over the evidence/testimony to take years.