Representative Darrell Issa’s final report on his oversight committee’s investigation into the ATF operation Fast and Furious is due to be released sometime this week. But the LA Times got a sneak peek and discovered some surprises:
Republican congressional investigators have concluded that five senior ATF officials — from the special agent-in-charge of the Phoenix field office to the top man in the bureau’s Washington headquarters — are collectively responsible for the failed Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation that was “marred by missteps, poor judgments and inherently reckless strategy.”
The investigators, in a final report likely to be released later this week, also unearthed new evidence that agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Phoenix initially sought to hide from the Mexican government the crucial information that two Fast and Furious firearms were recovered after the brother of a Mexican state attorney general was killed there.
According to a copy of the report obtained Monday by The Times, the investigators said their findings are “the best information available as of now” about the flawed gun operation that last month led to Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. being found in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over subpoenaed documents.
Two more final reports, they said, will deal with “the devastating failure of supervision and leadership” at the Department of Justice and an “unprecedented obstruction of the [congressional] investigation by the highest levels of the Justice Department, including the attorney general himself.”
As a political issue, Fast and Furious is a smoldering ember, just waiting for the right kindling to set it afire. But if there had been something of that nature in the report, it would have been leaked long before this.
AG Holder’s stonewalling is working — so far. The line is being held by his underlings, and while there has been some damaging documents released — including one that proves Holder lied to Congress about when he first learned about Fast and Furious — there has been no smoking gun or defection from the ranks that would ignite a firestorm and do serious political damage to the president.
The train of accountability will no doubt stop with the ATF. Unless Representative Issa can get his hands on those subpoenaed documents, some of which purportedly deal with Justice Department meetings on Fast and Furious, the ATF will take the fall and for all intents and purposes, that will be the end of it.
Not F&F, but F F F: found five fallguys.
If this was a Republican administration…….
The ATF is increasingly shown as an agency willing to act more like the gangs they were supposed to fight. It will be tough to crack the omerta there unless an agent realizes they will be the fall guys and face more than just a slap on the wrist (i.e. retirement or even fired – that just means they come back as contractors).
If we secure the senate and white house this election I don’t see any action being taken. Our leaders have never gone after previous presidents or congressional people. I still believe it is just smoke and mirrors to keep the people settled down until they have corralled the people into camps.
Very simple solution. Tell Mexico that these five agents will be handed over to them to face charges. Then give the agents the opportunity to come clean on whether or not they were acting alone or not. Think they would willingly go to Mexico to stand trial?
Unacceptable.
At the bare minimum, Holder and ATF director Todd Jones need to be fired. Holder in fact needs to face perjury charges in front of the House. If a few field agents and senior agents are the only ones to go down over this, Issa needs to be replaced as House Oversight Chairman by someone who will get tough…but that’s assuming Holder and Obamee still have their current jobs six months from now, which is now highly, highly unlikely.
It’s all a moot point come January anyway, I guess.
To be fair, Issa is not the one to blame….he can only do what Old Yellowstain will let him do. It is the republican ‘establishment’ keeping the lid on this, not Rep. Issa. Boehner had to be dragged kicking and screaming into supporting Issa’s investigation.
Sadly, it appears that this president and his conspirators may actually be ‘above the law’….we need to figure out a way to put pressure on one or all of these vermin to come clean. That’s a tough row to hoe considering others that have crossed this man are dead re: LT Quarles Harris, Jr. I wonder why the ‘co-conspirator’ is till breathing oxygen? Hmmmmmm….David W may be on to something – let the Mexicans ‘interrogate’ them; if you think OUR enhanced techniques are rough…