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Politics : Fast and Furious-----Obama/Holder Gun Running Scandal -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Saulamanca who wrote (497)	7/2/2012 12:13:23 AM
From: joseffy	1 Recommendation Respond to of 749

“Brian Terry has been dead over 500 days now and nobody has been held accountable,” Rep. Buerkle said. “The lack of transparency with the death of a Border Patrol Agent is sickening.” townhall.com

To: Saulamanca who wrote (497)	7/2/2012 12:15:00 AM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 749

“I am offended, personally, that you would call the Attorney General a liar,” Maloney said to Chairman Issa. Holder has changed his testimony about Fast and Furious under oath in front of Congress multiple times. townhall.com

To: Saulamanca who wrote (497)	7/2/2012 10:22:28 AM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 749

Fighting fire with fire … Holder’s stonewall is being pierced by Issa’s Congressional Immunity Monday, July 2, 2012 islandturtle.blogspot.com Last Friday (June 29) House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa pulled one off on AG Eric Holder. The lockup of Fast and Furious documents by the administration, many of which are under judicial seal, was shattered by his use of Congressional Immunity. Mr. Issa has received a number of leaked documents from unnamed sources. In particular he has copies of wiretap applications which put a lie to Holder’s contention that no senior officials at DOJ had knowledge that guns were allowed to walk into uncontrolled hands. Issa has now opened a door that permits him get his leaked documents into the public domain legally and with impunity. When Fast and Furious was conceived, it was the perfect crime. Guns purchased by straw purchasers would be allowed to walk into the hands of Mexican drug cartels with the blessing of the DOJ, which developed and ran the operation. There were no tracking devices (RFIDs) attached to the guns, the Mexican Government was not informed, and US law enforcement personnel were ordered not to interfere with movement of the weapons. All actions that could have made this a legitimate operation were ignored or countermanded. More likely it was an effort to generate publicity when the “walked” guns from the US turned up at violent cartel crime scenes. Then that publicity would be used create a ground swell of publicity to ban the sale of assault weapons. It was the perfect crime because Justice, which ran the operation, could stymie any investigation or prosecution should any glitches happen. And Democrats controlled both houses of Congress so no investigation with subpoena powers would happen. Just as with Justice, Congress would see no evi., Things began to unravel at Justice with the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and when Republicans took the House in the November 2010 elections. Early the following year Issa began his investigation but soon much of the evidence was out of reach, placed under seal by the Inspector General at Justice. It remains so and will remain so as long as the IG’s slow moving investigation continues. And now President Obama has claimed executive privilege for documents published after the close down of the Fast and Furious operation. In particular Issa has sought information through subpoena powers that senior Justice officials knew of the of the gun running operation. He wanted the sealed wiretap applications which can only be authorized at the senior level at Justice. That was denied. But it turns out Issa was in possession of several of these documents, leaked to him by persons unknown. How Issa legally placed this information into the public domain is unique and legal, and no doubt has Holder and others in the administration squirming. On Friday June 29 Issa referred on the floor a letter he had written a month earlier to Elijah Cummings, the ranking (Democrat) member of Issa’s Oversight Committee. The letter was a response to one Cummings has written him claiming there was no evidence to support the claim that senior Justice officials knew of guns being “walked” to straw purchasers. Issa in his letter quotes information obtained in six leaked wiretap applications, documenting that they indeed were aware of the gun walking operation. He then had his letter, containing the sealed wiretap applications, read into the Congressional Record. It is available here. Members of Congress are constitutionally protected from libel suits and prosecution for statements made from the floor. In practice they are protected when making statements in the course of their work, when Congress is in session. Issa played it safe and did it all from the floor. And it must have Holder and other Democrats fuming. Undoubtedly, there is more to come. Issa likely has more leaked documents from his mole. And he now has a channel to place them before the public.

To: Saulamanca who wrote (497)	7/9/2012 4:30:45 PM
From: joseffy	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 749

Holder offers $1 million reward for info leading to arrest of Brian Terry’s killers 07/09/2012 By Matthew Boyle dailycaller.com Attorney General Eric Holder, left, and murdered Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, right. (Photos: AP) Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday unsealed the indictment charging five people with crimes in connection with the Operation Fast and Furious-related murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Holder is already in criminal and civil contempt of Congress for withholding documents related to the Operation Fast and Furious scandal that armed the Mexican drug cartel criminals who murdered Agent Terry. Holder is offering a $1 million reward to anyone who helps the FBI with “information leading to the arrest of four fugitives.” The fifth person charged with Terry’s killing – and a sixth who was connected with that crime but has already been charged with a lesser crime – have been in custody since December 2010. “According to the indictment, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza are charged with crimes including first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, assault on a federal officer and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person,” a press release announcing the indictment’s unsealing reads. “A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, is charged only with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery.” “The 11-count third superseding indictment, which was handed up by a federal grand jury in the District of Arizona on Nov. 7, 2011, alleges that on Dec. 14, 2010, five of the defendants (Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Ivan Soto-Barraza, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes and Lionel Portillo-Meza) engaged in a firefight with Border Patrol agents,” the release continues. “During the exchange of gunfire, Agent Terry was shot and killed. The indictment alleges that the defendants had illegally entered the United States from Mexico for the purpose of robbing drug traffickers of their contraband. In addition to the murder of Agent Terry, the indictment also alleges that the five defendants assaulted Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza and Timothy Keller, who were with Agent Terry during the firefight.” “The indictment is being unsealed today in order to seek the public’s assistance in locating the fugitive defendants,” the statement adds. Holder is quoted in the statement too, saying he thinks “Agent Terry served his country honorably and made the ultimate sacrifice in trying to protect it from harm, and we will stop at nothing to bring those responsible for his murder to justice.” “This investigation has previously resulted in one defendant being charged with Agent Terry’s murder and taken into custody, and today’s announcement reflects the department’s unrelenting commitment to finding and arresting the other individuals responsible for this horrific tragedy so that Agent Terry’s family, friends and fellow law enforcement agents receive the justice they deserve,” Holder added. UPDATE 3:00 p.m.: House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa said on Fox News that he “applaud[s] what they [Holder’s DOJ] are doing but condemn[s] the timing.” “It’s clear the timing has to do with the House of Representatives holding Eric Holder in contempt for not turning over information,” Issa said of the move to unseal the indictments. “The Terry family should have seen this attempt to go public and try to get the murderers of Brian Terry [before now]. For 18 months they have known and haven’t done everybody they could do to capture these individuals. This is another example of using politics over good policy. Again, I applaud the fact that we are going public and we are trying to make it clear that these people are among the USA’s and Mexico’s most wanted. But at the same time, the timing is very dubious.” House oversight committee ranking Democratic member Rep. Elijah Cummings said in a statement that he “commend[s] the Department of Justice for its vigorous pursuit of justice for Brian Terry’s family. I remain dedicated to ensuring that his family and the American people get the answers they deserve.” It’s unclear what Cummings thinks of the timing of this release – after 18 months of the Department of Justice having this information and Holder being held in criminal and civil contempt of Congress. His spokeswoman Ashley Etienne didn’t immediately answer that question. Read more: dailycaller.com