Hat tip to Daily Caller
Since Patrick Cunningham, Criminal Division Chief in the US Attorneys Office in Arizona, took the 5th amendment, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) is now asking the Justice Department to make Cunningham's assistant, Michael Morrissey, available to testify in its continuing probe of Operation Fast and Furious. Daily Caller has an update.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/26/issa-demands-new-fast-and-furious-witness-from-holder/
Now we have to see how this waltz turns out. Will Eric Holder refuse to voluntarily make Mr Morrissey available, or will Issa's committee have to issue a supoena?
Will Mr Morrissey take the 5th?
Stay tuned.
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3 comments:
This Administration, made up of Chicago corrupt-o-crats, think they are above the law. The more Eric Holder and his little leftist puppets evade the courts and the law of the land, they will go down even harder. All that is needed is one DoJ employee to avoid major jail time and sing a song. This song will be that of the Pied Piper leading the minions over the cliff. Obama did not show up at court yesterday, at the request of a Georgia Judge. One asks, what would happen to us, if we fail to show up at court. More above the law behavior ( Here is the LINK: http://www.wnd.com/2012/01/georgia-court-told-obama-slam-dunk-disqualified/).
So, as Gary States: "Stay Tuned".
Squid
I don't know much (yet) about this Georgia deal but will have to read up on it. Although I am not an attorney (and am in fact barred from the profession), I believe that the typical result of failure to appear/respond in a civil matter usually results in a default judgement in favor of the plaintiff, no??
Squid--surely you do not expect an Obama-appointed agency head/U.S. Attorney/Attorney General/Special or Independent Counsel, to investigate this matter, do you?? Certainly, none of the following options will extend (and actually should not extend) to anyone who merely takes the Fifth. Sorry as that may seem to some, they, like everyone else, have rights. While it can be interpreted as a fairly strong indication, if not an outright admission, that criminal behavior occurred and that they know it occurred, there is no real possibility, let alone any probability, that anyone will end up being charged criminally, even if perjury was committed. Unfortunately, therefore, there is no “major jail time” in the offing here for anyone and, therefore, no hammer no matter how much someone ducks and dodges or what comes out.
Alas, this is because he best I can figure it, the truly independent “Independent Counsel” (a la Kenneth Starr) went away in 1999. Either Congress or the AG could request the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to appoint such a counsel, and the AG could not dismiss counsel except for “good cause”. Again as I understand it, this Independent Counsel morphed into the, yes, “U.S. Department of Justice Office of Special Counsel”. There also appears exist another separate statutory ‘Independent Counsel” which is, of course, different from the first aforementioned one above. The problem is that both of these offices, and appointments to them, come under the authority/jurisdiction of the Attorney General who, unlike Janet Reno, is not about to appoint one.
About the only thing left I can see is the possibility of citation(s) for “contempt of Congress“, which does exist but which is essentially fairly toothless. Again, the best I can see, either body of Congress can have an individual “arrested” by the Sergeant-at-Arms and then imprisoned. The longest confinement I can find in recent history was for 10 days. For actual criminal proceedings, which are actually only misdemeanors anyway (max of a year in jail and $1,000.00 fine), it is again necessary for the Congress to, yes, refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney for the Dictrict of Columbia, who works for the Attorney General, for prosecution. See what I mean?? It is all kind of circular.
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