There were few surprises during yesterday’s Operation Fast and Furious Hearing. Attorney General Eric Holder repeatedly refused to give straight answers and called for more gun control as the Democrats on the Committee did there best to defend what may be the most incompetent man ever to sit in the AG’s office.
One interesting exchange came between House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa and Holder over wiretap applications which had been leaked to Issa’s investigators.
Holder got a bit worked up:
To the extent that those wiretap applications have been shared … If I find, if I find that someone in the United States Department of Justice has shared the contents of wiretap applications that is something that will have to be looked at … Anyone who reads or submits that information for people to look at does so at their peril.
Issa noted members of Congress were not subject to the court order which sealed the applications in question and not only that, but that whistle blowers were automatically protected.
Holder disagreed and appeared to be threatening Issa with criminal charges:
You act at your peril if you think that’s the truth.
It was a rough day overall for Holder, who was repeatedly savaged by Republican lawmakers incensed by Holder’s reaction to the failed operation which allowed at least 1,500 military-style weapons into the hands of the Mexican cartels — some reports have the number as high as 2,500 — and caused the deaths of hundreds of Mexican nationals and American Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, (R-NY), hammered Holder on the subject of being held accountable for the debacle:
I would suggest the president has been eerily quiet in coming to your defense (on Fast and Furious). How many more border ptrol agents would have had to die for you to take responsiblity?”
Holder sat silent for a moment, and according to sources in the hearing, several minority members told him not to answer, before attempting to defend his tenure as AG, he finished by saying:
That question, respectfully, is beneath a member of Congress.
Rep. Dan Burton, (R-Ind.) also blasted Holder for his refusal to turn over documents relating to the case, noting he was in Congress when Holder was Deputy AG under Janet Reno and the DoJ had been forced to hand over documents before:
You said … today there’s certain documents you will not give us because of the separation of powers. Now we’ve been down that road before and we got them. We had to threaten a contempt citation, but we got the documents. I think you’re hiding behind something that will not stand so you ought to give us the documents. The conclusion I come to is there’s something in there you don’t want us to see. I would urge the chair to move a contempt citation against you if you don’t give the documents to us.
Overall it was just not a good day for Holder who once again looked like a hands-off manager who doesn’t know what’s going on within his own department and doesn’t talk to other departments, either.
He had said to Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), that he had not had explicit conversations about Fast and Furious with either Director of Homeland security Janet Napolitano or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton because “people don’t want to get dragged in front of Congress,” and that he’d only had passing conversations with the president on the subject about the fact of his testimony.
Chaffetz was … unimpressed:
1,500 weapons, 300 dead in Mexico, a dead United States Agent, we’ve had untold numbers of hearing and discussions and press reports and yet you have the people at the highest levels of the government saying “well we don’t talk to each other because our people don’t tell us information because we’ve got to remain ignorant because we’re going to have to testify and they don’t want to get involved. And at the same time you’re telling us they’re interfacing with the state department on a regular bases and the state department … is telling us it isn’t happening and Janet Napolitano is saying the very same things and Department of Homeland Security.
If we’re going to solve this problem, make sure it never happens again, we have to solve these challenges and I have no confidence that you’ve addressed it or offered anything to solve it.
Indeed 13 months after the allegations of gunwalking came to light, no one has lost their job at DoJ. Nor does it currently appear anyone will actually be held accountable. Of course the $25 million lawsuit Terry’s family is threatening may break something loose.
Holder is about as incompetant as obama is.
But he isn’t as good a liar.
Threatening members of Congress now?
To paraphrase a quote from Trek
The Hall is Rented. The Orechestra Engaged. Now it’s time to see if you can dance.
Dance, Holder. Dance.
I sure hope this scandal explodes into general public awareness right around late September or October.
I’m going to make a prediction. The DoJ will quietly settle the case with the Terry family. As is typical in settlements, terms will not be disclosed, and wrongdoing will not be admitted.
What’s 25 million of taxpayer money? Chicken feed. They’ll get the full amount, in exchange for a gag order.
I’ll predict that if they do, that won’t get Issa off their backs.
I doubt the family will settle. Some things are more important than money.
How would a settlement make a difference? This isn’t a civil court; it’s legislative oversight of the executive branch.
Of course they offer the $25 million or whatever. It won’t even affect their potential retirement. It won’t even feel like money to them.
Either he knew and signed off on it or he’s incompetent and lost control of his people. Either way he should be fired and charge as an accessory to murder.
“That question, respectfully, is beneath a member of Congress.”
If so, it’s the only thing.
…and a forthright answer is above the Attorney General.
Why isn’t this important to the Latinos in Congress and activists?
300 dead at the end of US Govenment guns? Why aren’t they the ones calling for heads to roll?
I know, politics, only like some things are more important than money… some things should be more important than poltics too!
More people will die and it’s nobodys fault?
Given the serious lack of testosterone among the house GOP, I have to agree with Mr. Owens: The Terry family lawsuit is far likelier to produce results than more house hearings.
They had better pull the trigger now or as soon as possible. Come June, the conventions will be around the corner and no one will be interested in pursuing this. Not even the Republicans for fear of being called to political.
“You act at your peril if you think that’s the truth.”
Issa should have cited him for contempt right there.
Holder is on the attack against voter ID laws. He’s essential to Zero’s re-election campaign, since the only way the dims can win is thru election fraud. The GOP needs to grow a pair and impeach Holder now. Threatening members of Congress is only the beginning for these people.
Spread the word, this administration set those agents up and is responsible for the murder of agent Terry. Spread it everywhere, don’t let the lying murderers and traitors get away with this!
ChillytheAlaskan Today 02:06 PM
Why were the fast & furious guns retreived at the scene of the shooting, but no shooters captured? Dangerous criminals willing to have shootouts with the border patrol/US Government don’t drop their weapons and run away scared! They don’t drop their weapons until shot dead or captured! They dropped the weapons because it was part of the plan to “discover” these “American” weapons that could be tracked back to gun dealers in Arizona=lax gun laws in Arizona result in a dead border agent=MORE GUN RESTRICTIONS. One of the criminals is being protected as an informant by BATF/FBI/US Government, and our government is hiding this information.
This whole incident was a setup to drop the weapons. The obvious conclusion is that the informant and his handler set this incident up which lead to Brian Terry’s death, in order to drop the weapons and get the needed headlines to implement new gun control. Who was the informants “handler”, and how far up in our government and ADMINISTRATION did the orders to implement this setup come from? Holder is lying, any employe of our government taking the fifth and avoiding questioning on this matter should be charged as an accessory to murder.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2012/02/covering_up_fast_furiously_comments.html#disqus_thread
Well, well, well…Holder is showing his hand. Arrogantly stoopid.
Ain’t you never heard o’ no shuckin’ an’ jivin’? The shuckin’ part is to dissemble, as in to lie or play ignorant; the jivin’ is to attempt to change the subject, or misdirect.
Now you have.
Oh! Bad Me!
I’m so racist!
Good black men don’t shuck and jive. There’s a word for those who do, and we all know what it is.
On April 2, 2009 in Cuernavaca, Mexico Holder said:
“Last week, our administration launched a major new effort to break the backs of the cartels. My department is committing 100 new ATF personnel to the Southwest border in the next 100 days to supplement our ongoing Project Gunrunner, DEA is adding 16 new positions on the border, as well as mobile enforcement teams, and the FBI is creating a new intelligence group focusing on kidnapping and extortion. ”
I want to see HOlder asked about this. Everyone knows Gunrunner and F&F were two names for the same operation. If he publicly spoke about it in 2009 how can he claim he was not aware of it?