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Fast And Furious Roundup: Holder Lied, People Died?

Fast And Furious Roundup: Holder Lied, People Died?

I haven’t covered this scandal in a while, so here is a roundup of where this story has been going.  Who knows, it might even get serious enough that the MSM will take a break from looking under rocks in middle-of-nowhere-Texas for dirt on Republicans and focus on the ATF selling thousands of guns to drug cartels that were used to kill hundreds.  Three major revelations have recently come to light.

1. The ATF actually bought weapons with taxpayer funds and sold them to Mexican drug cartels.  They did not merely observe and encourage existing gun dealers.

Not only did U.S. officials approve, allow and assist in the sale of more than 2,000 guns to the Sinaloa cartel — the federal government used taxpayer money to buy semi-automatic weapons, sold them to criminals and then watched as the guns disappeared…

According to documents obtained by Fox News, Agent John Dodson was ordered to buy six semi-automatic Draco pistols — two of those were purchased at the Lone Wolf gun store in Peoria, Ariz. An unusual sale, Dodson was sent to the store with a letter of approval from David Voth, an ATF group supervisor.

Dodson then sold the weapons toknown illegal buyers, while fellow agents watched from their cars nearby.

This was not a “buy-bust” or a sting operation, where police sell to a buyer and then arrest them immediately afterward. In this case, agents were “ordered” to let the sale go through and follow the weapons to a stash house.

According to sources directly involved in the case, Dodson felt strongly that the weapons should not be abandoned and the stash house should remain under 24-hour surveillance. However, Voth disagreed and ordered the surveillance team to return to the office. Dodson refused, and for six days in the desert heat kept the house under watch, defying direct orders from Voth.

A week later, a second vehicle showed up to transfer the weapons. Dodson called for an interdiction team to move in, make the arrest and seize the weapons. Voth refused and the guns disappeared with no surveillance.

2.  Attorney General Eric Holder may have lied to Congress about when he became aware of Operation Fast & Furious.

WASHINGTON – New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious operation as far back as July 2010. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress.

On May 3, 2011, Holder told a Judiciary Committee hearing, “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”

Yet internal Justice Department documents show that at least ten months before that hearing, Holder began receiving frequent memos discussing Fast and Furious.

3. Three White House officials  were kept apprised of the operation, but it is unclear how much they knew or who they shared it with.

The emails indicate three White House officials were briefed on gun trafficking efforts that included Fast and Furious. The officials are Kevin O’Reilly, then-director of North American Affairs, now assigned to the State Department; Dan Restrepo, senior Latin American advisory; and Greg Gatjanis, a national security official.

The White House officials were provided information on Fast and Furious and other border gun trafficking efforts through what an administration source calls “back channels” by ATF’s then-Special Agent in Charge of Phoenix Bill Newell. “…don’t want ATF HQ to find out, especially since this is what they should be doing (briefing you),” Newell wrote in an email to the White House’s O’Reilly on July 28, 2010. Newell has since been transferred out of that post.

An administration source describes the emails as colleagues sharing information about a gun trafficking initiative. On July 28, 2010 O’Reilly emails Newell: “Just an informal ‘how’s it going?” Newell replied by reporting good progress in efforts to stop gun trafficking to Mexico, and gave specific anecdotes. “This is great; very informative,” O’Reilly replies.

 

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“House Republicans are calling for a special counsel to determine whether Attorney General Holder perjured himself during his testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on Operation Fast and Furious, Fox News has learned.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, was sending a letter to President Obama on Tuesday arguing that Holder cannot investigate himself, and requesting the president instruct the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel.

The question is whether Holder committed perjury during a Judiciary Committee hearing on May 3. At the time, Holder indicated he was not familiar with with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives program known as Fast and Furious until about April 2011.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/04/house-republicans-to-request-special-counsel-to-probe-holder-on-fast-and/#ixzz1ZpmdXM3g

““I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard…”

I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s telling the truth. He was receiving written briefings. Holder doesn’t read.

DINORightMarie | October 4, 2011 at 2:27 pm

This is the biggest thing since Watergate – and that is not just empty rhetoric or hyperbole.

This will destroy this administration, if they get a special counsel worth his or her weight – i.e. honest and wanting to get the TRUTH out.

Either way, Obama will fire Holder. He has to go under the bus. Either Holder is lying – and we can be almost certain he is; or Holder is incompetent – as he says with a straight face, “I misunderstood the question.”

Lose-lose. He is toast. Under the bus, Holder.

Remember: this is an election year. Obama can’t afford to have this hanging over him; too late to avoid that, IMHO, but axing Holder will dampen the scandal, which will come, because CBS and the LA Times are reporting on this, not just Fox News.

    Kenshu Ani in reply to DINORightMarie. | October 4, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    In my opinion, this is far bigger than Watergate, especially if it goes all the way to the top. Watergate didn’t arm violent criminals with weapons to kill our ally’s citizens.

    Holder will probably “fall on his sword” instead of being fired. Holder likely has enough dirt on Obama to receive a nice pardon after the election. It all comes down to timing, if the administration can stall long enough for the election or not.

    I guess if he gets a pardon, he won’t really be “falling on his sword.” More likely falling on a soft, fluffy, sword-like pillow.

Read about these briefings over on RedState, which revealed that the operation had knowledge that the cartel’s weapons budget was $1 million.

Cartels have budgets?

The agents literally had a “note from their Mommy” to buy firearms that were sold to bad guys who conveyed them to others to murder innocent human beings as well as an on duty officer.

My past understanding of the oath of office, due diligience, chain of evidence and of attachment of civil much less criminal liability clearly is inoperative and obsolete.

The Doctrine of Respondeat Superior (a department head or employer being held liable for the training and behavior of those you hire, retain, supervise, direct, command) need not apply if your heart is in the right place.

There we are fellow constituents: our Executive Branch is free of the strictures of Statute Law. How do YOU “feel” now?

(And I forgot gratitude) Thank you, Professor DM

He did, they did, and I wish garbage like this could be thrown in prison for life. HOWEVER, he won’t be touched, he won’t go to prison, and nothing will happen to him other than perhaps going to the private sector and making a ton of money from his knowledge on the inner workings of the DOJ. This is the way things work here. Federal government does whatever it wants and WALKS.

Why do I think that there won’t be hundreds of “Holder lied, hundreds died” placards littering Ithaca lawns come 2012?

As long as it’s only CBS News (and FOX, but EVERYONE KNOWS they are just the RNC in disguise -snark) covers this story, it isn’t going to play in Peoria (sadly).

However, should Jon Stewart say something on Comedy Central (or it’s mentioned in some joke on Family Guy or the Simpsons), I don’t believe it’s going anywhere.

I mean, has the NY Times or WaPo even touched this?

Obama and Holder are banking on their ability to stall. If they can delay any special prosecutor being appointed, he won’t have time to report before the election.

Also, after what was done to Ken Starr, who will take the job?

Maybe the Professor can give us guidance on the Constitutional check on a rogue Attorney General that has the backing of the political establishment in power.

Maybe someone can give me guidance as to why my hyperlinks seem to work under “preview”, but lose their clickyness when I post them.

To quote Joe Wilson: “frog-marched out of the White House.”

If Isa has to obtain approval from Obama for a special counsel, doesn’t that tell us this is going nowhere? First, Obama can stall to high heaven and then he can obfuscate in the meantime and then if pushed, he can appoint another crooked radical liberal lawyer to be the special prosecutor if it even goes that far.

Does this all depend on Obama? Is there any other way to get an independent prosecutor? Clearly, if Obama is at the top of this deal, he’ll never cooperate.

What else can be done? With all the lawyers that frequent this blog, there must be some that have expertise in this area and can help us mere mortals to understand what we’re up against and what other alternatives we may have if any.

don't tread 2012 | October 4, 2011 at 8:31 pm

I expect Holder to make Clinton look like a piker when it comes to parsing not only his answers on record but the supposed lack of ‘clarity’ of the questions he has answered.

Does anyone doubt this? Liberals lie as a matter of course. But a cornered liberal will up the ante and raise the stakes into the stratosphere…prepare the popcorn.

F&F is Cloward-Piven by the numbers…
1. Overwhelm the system(s) with open borders and a flood of immigration.
2. Encourage immigration with violent drug mayhem in Mexico.
3. Encourage mayhem with a flood of automatic weapons south.
4. Icing on the cake…increase domestic gun control due to US weapons in Mexico!

No special counsel. Instead, articles of impeachment with Eric Holder’s name on them. Force the Copperheads and RINOs in the Senate to refuse to confirm them. Next year, plaster the airwaves with ads on each Senator who voted not to remove Holder saying “Senator Scumbucket approves of the massacre of women and children.”

[…] Sharyl Attkisson the ‘ONLY reporter not being reasonable’ about Fast and Furious Oct.05, 2011 in media A reporter for CBS claimed that White House and Department of Justice officials screamed and cursed at her due to a story she was pursuing about the controversial DOJ program known as “Fast and Furious.” […]

Not until someone is found guilty and sentenced to jail will they squeal in order to have their sentence reduced. So it’s time for indictments and no more BS. Everyone involved with this crime needs jail time.

[…] much is happening so quickly, it’s best to take a look at Legal Insurrection and their list of most recent stories on the ATF Fast & Furiou…: . . . Three major revelations have recently come to […]