"It was those ATF agents in Phoenix. I didn't know nuthin'"
I was not able to actually watch Eric Holder's testimony before Congress this morning other than a few minutes when Senator Pat Leahy (pictured below) was diverting attention away from Fast and Furious with some pathetic questions designed to clear up some report that a DOJ conference had spent money on "16-dollar muffins".
Of course, Leahy is the protector on the panel who is pressing for the Fast and Furious investigation to delve into an ATF operation conducted under the Bush administration. He reminds me of another senator named Pat Geary in Godfather II.
Anyway, here is a preliminary Fox report on Holder's testimony, in which he claims that the Fast and Furious operation had no direct connection to the death of Agent Brian Terry (except for the fact that agent Terry was killed by weapons traced back top Fast and Furious purchases.)
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/08/after-fast-and-furious-holder-to-blame-congress-for-not-supporting-atf/
Here is a clip of Holder denying receiving memos about Fast and Furious as well as responsibility for Agent Terry's death.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1264963503001/holder-maintains-he-didnt-know-about-fast-and-furious
"In February, the Justice Department sent a letter to lawmakers saying every effort is made to "interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico."
But details of "Fast and Furious" and similar investigations under the Bush administration have since come to light that reveal otherwise. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking member on the panel, said "mounting evidence" in the months since the letter has "put the lie" to Justice Department claims.
The information in the letter was "inaccurate," Holder said, adding, "I regret that."
Inaccurate?? It was a total lie.
"Holder said the Justice Department in Washington was "relying" on information provided by "people we thought in the best position to know," namely officials with the U.S. Attorney's Office and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Arizona."
That's right, Holder. Blame the agents in Phoenix. That's the party line. Protect the political bosses in DOJ. I will repeat: Nobody at the ATF level in Phoenix could have dreamed this plan up and even if they had, it would have required approval at the highest levels of Justice. But Holder never knew. He never even received all those memos to him during 2010.
"While Holder asked for a retreat from "headline-grabbing Washington 'gotcha' games and cynical political point scoring," he said he did not mislead Congress in May over when he first heard of "Fast and Furious."
Holder said he first learned about tactics and the phrase "Operation Fast and Furious" beginning this year when it became a matter of public controversy.
"In my testimony I did say a few weeks, I probably could have said a couple of months," Holder said. "The focus of which day on which month is a bit of distraction (and) does nothing to address what concerns us most" -- the flow of guns, Holder said.
Later at the same hearing, in response to a follow-up question, Holder said he was probably aware of the operation at least six weeks earlier, by the time President Obama talked about it with a Spanish-language media outlet in late March."
Nonsense. He was getting memos on this in 2010. It began in 2009. As I said before, this boffo operation could only have been concocted by someone in Washington and approved at the highest levels. No professional law enforcement agent would have dreamed up this scheme. They knew that their job was to interdict guns and put violators in jail. This was blatantly political.
"Last month, Grassley distributed five memos addressed to Holder in July and August 2010, citing the gunrunning investigation by name. Nearly a year after those heavily redacted memos were sent, the attorney general in May told lawmakers under oath he "probably heard about 'Fast and Furious' for the first time over the last few weeks."
Never got those memos, says Holder.
"In his opening remarks, Grassley noted that in January -- the month after Terry was killed -- he handed Holder two letters mentioning "numerous allegations" from whistleblowers "that the ATF sanctioned the sale of hundreds of assault weapons to suspected straw purchasers" and "two of the weapons were then allegedly used in a firefight … killing CBP Agent Brian Terry."
Did he never get those either? Grassley gave them to him personally. That's January 2011. Now Holder is saying that he heard about Fast and Furious in late March 2011-or was it February 2011?
How about this report from Daily Caller that reveals a memo initialed by the Deputy AG in March 2010?
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/08/grassley-to-push-holder-new-evidence-contradicts-claim-about-when-ag-learned-of-fast-and-furious/
And finally, Holder cannot even answer questions as to exactly who is accountable for Fast and Furious. Clearly, any scapegoat will be someone other than and lower than him and his cronies in DOJ.
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/08/the-dance-holder-avoids-congressional-questions-on-fast-and-furious-accountability/
Holder is compounding his problem. He was lying under oath in May and he is lying under oath now. It's called perjury.
No comments:
Post a Comment