ATF running guns to Mexico

[UConn James]

Well, yes AD.

 

According to BigGovernment.com, the United States government may well be the biggest supplier of guns to the Mexican drug cartels.

 

The most recent numbers from 2010 show the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) — the State Department agency responsible for overseeing the exportation of military goods — authorized the transfer of 2.5 million units of small arms, weapon optics, silencers, and related components. In that same year, over 11 million units of ammunition and 127,000 units of explosive ordnance were cleared for exportation to Mexico. This amounted to $25 million worth of small arms, ammunition, and explosives shipped to Mexico authorized by our State Department.

 

In recent months, allegations have surfaced that the State Department’s US Direct Commercial Sales Program and DDTC may have directly shipped arms to the Zetas, the Gulf Cartel’s hit squad.

[Oxrock]

Holder needs to go.

It's Been An Eventful Week In Fast & Furious News

 

The Daily Caller caught up with Eric Holder to get his reaction to the growing list of members of Congress that are calling for his resignation (52 as of today). Holder's response was to demand that the Daily Caller stop publishing articles about it. Just in case you think I might be exaggerating by saying "demanded",check out this picture.

 

As Holder's aide was escorting the attorney general offstage following his remarks Tuesday afternoon at the White House, a Daily Caller reporter introduced himself and shook Holder's hand. The reporter asked him for a response to the growing chorus of federal legislators demanding his resignation.Holder stepped towards the exit, then turned around, stepped back toward the reporter, and sternly said,

"You guys need to — you need to stop this. It's not an organic thing that's just happening. You guys are behind it."

 

So, mystery solved. Audio of the exchange is below the fold.

 

Meanwhile, Fox News reported today that the whisteblowers that testified before Congress are seeing some retaliation from the Justice Department. More on that here.

 

 

"

The only people who have been damaged from Fast and Furious, short of the obvious victims, are the people who tried to tell truth and blew the whistle,

" Dobyns said.Dodson was told he was toxic and could no longer work in Phoenix. With sole custody of two teenagers and under water on his house mortgage, Dodson found himself with no place to be and nowhere to go.

 

A supervisor suggested he'd be treated fairly at an office in South Carolina. Wanting to keep his job, protect his pension and pay the mortgage, Dodson had no other choice. He and his family now live in a small apartment, facing financial troubles, still labeled persona non grata by the very agency he carries a badge for, and regularly assaulted by leaks from "ATF sources at headquarters."

 

Dodson has tried to remain out of the public eye, has not filed suit and says only that he wishes to return to his work as an ATF agent.

 

The White House's Thanksgiving visitor log document dump produced some interesting names, including Rachel Maddow and convicted felon Robert Creamer. Doug Ross dug a little deeper into the data and found four face-to-face meetings between President Obama and Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler:

 

Item 1: In March of 2011, President Obama denied knowledge of 'Operation Fast and Furious' -- the Justice Department program that sent thousands of murder weapons to Mexican drug cartels.Item 2: According to documents obtained by the House Judiciary Committee, Deputy Attorney General Gary Grindler was keenly aware of all aspects of Operation Fast and Furious as early as March 2010.

 

Item 3: Newly released White House Visitor Logs list Grindler as having visited the White House 40 times, but only four times with the President himself. All four meetings with the President occurred over a two-week period, between 7 May 2010 and 19 May 2010.

According to The Los Angeles Times, these dates just so happened to represent the run-up to "the height of [Operation] Fast and Furious"

 

Also today: The Obama Administration has sealed all records relating to Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder.

 

The Obama Administration has abruptly sealed court records containing alarming details of how Mexican drug smugglers murdered a U.S. Border patrol agent with a gun connected to a failed federal experiment that allowed firearms to be smuggled into Mexico.

This means information will now be kept from the public as well as the media.

Could this be a cover-up on the part of the "most transparent" administration in history? After all, the rifle used to kill the federal agent (Brian Terry) last December in Arizona's Peck Canyon was part of the now infamous Operation Fast and Furious. Conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the disastrous scheme allowed guns to be smuggled into Mexico so they could eventually be traced to drug cartels.

 

This is how innocent people behave, right?

 

 

 

 

Posted by:

JohnE. at 06:25 PM

 

Ace of Spades HQ

 

Edited December 1, 2011 by Oxrock

[Nanker]

DOJ doing it's best to help out - no doubt.

The department turned over 1,364 pages of material after concluding "that we will make a rare exception to the department's recognized protocols and provide you with information related to how the inaccurate information came to be included in the letter," Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is looking into the Obama administration's handling of Operation Fast and Furious.

 

Operation Fast and Furious involved more than 2,000 weapons that were purchased by straw buyers at Phoenix-area gun stores. Nearly 700 of the Fast and Furious guns have been recovered — 276 in Mexico and 389 in the United States, according to ATF data as of Oct. 20.

 

The emails sent to Capitol Hill on Friday showed that Burke supplied additional incorrect information to a Justice Department criminal division attorney. For example, Burke said that the guns found at the Terry murder scene were purchased at a Phoenix gun shop before Operation Fast and Furious began. In fact, the operation was under way at the time.

 

Where Burke got the inaccurate information is now part of an inquiry conducted by the inspector general's office at the Justice Department.

 

AP - by Pete Yost December 3, 2011

 

[UConn James]

With Holder Testimony Set for 2 Feb., Emails Reveal That DOJ Initially Suggested Gun-Running

 

But a lot has changed since that early December hearing. Most recently, the last minute release of subpoenaed documents which show that Holder learned about Border Agent Brian Terry’s death on the day it happened: a point Holder has heretofore denied. (Emails between Dennis Burke, former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, and Holder’s then-deputy chief of staff prove this.) Additionally, other emails in the recently released DOJ documents show that the head of DOJ’s “criminal division, Lanny Breuer, suggested letting some illicit ‘straw’ weapons buyers in the U.S. [to] transport their guns across the border into Mexico where they could be arrested.”

 

I wonder if Holder is going to see his shadow....

Edited January 31, 2012 by UConn James

[UConn James]

Now breaking that ATF also facilitated the transfer of grenades and grenade parts.

 

ATF's mysterious grenade smuggler case: new photos, documents turned over to Congress

 

Grenades are weapons of choice for Mexico's killer drug cartels. An attack on a casino in Mexico last year killed 53 people.

...

An official now investigating ATF and the Justice Department for their actions in the Kingery case tells CBS News: "All the usual safeguards of law enforcement were thrown out. They were more worried about making a big case than they were about the public safety."

 

The plan to allow Kingery to traffic grenade parts into a foreign country and track him to his factory drew strong internal objections.

 

"That's not possible," wrote a lead ATF official in Mexico. "We are forbidden from doing that type of activity. If ICE is telling you they can do that, they are full of [expletive]..."

 

And just to remind you in case you haven't followed along, the concoctors of this program either are in or were promoted to D.C. in the DOJ/ATF/ICE.

[UConn James]

NYPost: Holder's Last Days?

 

The smoking gun was the discovery earlier this month of wiretap applications that made it clear that senior Justice officials — including Assistant AG Lanny Breuer and others — were not only in the loop on F&F, but had approved its tactics.

 

And done so over the vehement objections of agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who were tasked with the operation.

 

At least one American agent, Border Patrol officer Brian Terry, has been killed with weapons involved in the operation, along with hundreds of Mexicans.

 

Wrote Issa to Holder on June 5: “Throughout the course of the investigation . . . the department has consistently denied that any senior officials were provided information about the tactics used in Operation Fast and Furious. The wiretap applications obtained by the committee show such statements made by senior department officials regarding the wiretaps to be false and misleading.”

 

Contempt of Congress vote has been scheduled for next week, barring the release of subpoenaed documents that DOJ has been fighting tooth and nail to keep to themselves, showing that the highest level officials knew about and/or championed "Fast and Furious / Gunwalker" prior to February, contrary to Holder's sworn testimony.

 

Not one part of the administration's actions in this whole mess is without shame.

 

Much further than that, tho --- treasonous.

[3rdnlng]

NYPost: Holder's Last Days?

 

 

 

Contempt of Congress vote has been scheduled for next week, barring the release of subpoenaed documents that DOJ has been fighting tooth and nail to keep to themselves, showing that the highest level officials knew about and/or championed "Fast and Furious / Gunwalker" prior to February, contrary to Holder's sworn testimony.

 

Not one part of the administration's actions in this whole mess is without shame.

 

Much further than that, tho --- treasonous.

 

 

I understand NBC finally had a story on "Fast and Furious" the other day. Up until then, they had never even mentioned it.

[UConn James]

USAToday | Obama team: Fast and Furious documents are privileged

 

 

In other words: "These documents would be REALLY politically damaging to the administration once it's proved that the head muckity-mucks approved of Gunrunner to advance their domestic anti-gun agenda and that AG Holder flat-out lied under oath about when he first knew about the operation."

 

Unless they still go forward with holding Holder in contempt and barring more breaking news on the story (certainly not out of the question) the Democrats have decided to punt and absorb it in November.

 

They aren't even trying to be sneaky at this point. It's just a brazen middle finger lifted up to the Constitution.

 

Sold thousands of full-auto weapons and RPGs to Mexican drug cartels, then ordered to stop surveillance once they crossed the border. It's unconscionable that this admin is actually in the running for another go.

Edited June 20, 2012 by UConn James

[IDBillzFan]

USAToday | Obama team: Fast and Furious documents are privileged

 

 

In other words: "These documents would be REALLY politically damaging to the administration once it's proved that the head muckity-mucks approved of Gunrunner to advance their domestic anti-gun agenda and that AG Holder flat-out lied under oath about when he first knew about the operation."

For a president who has stated he had nothing to do with F&F, he sure the hell owns it now.

 

On the other hand, this would be a good time for the MSM to catch up on F&F since they now have no excuse to ignore the story.

[UConn James]

For a president who has stated he had nothing to do with F&F, he sure the hell owns it now.

 

On the other hand, this would be a good time for the MSM to catch up on F&F since they now have no excuse to ignore the story.

 

Not so.

 

"It's privileged. Nothin' to see here. Ask Obama, he'll tell you!"

 

Have to tip my hat to CBS News' Sheryl Atkisson, who's broken a lot of the news about this story. Whether the average American will actually give a sh-- as long as they keep getting their free stuff / government monies... well, that's another story.

 

I've never advocated for armed rebellion, but I think this country may be pretty close to it.

[Joe Miner]

I like the offer Holder made:

 

Hey, drop the investigation and the possibility of charging anyone with anything, and I'll give you the exact documents you need to show we're innocent.

 

That's an extraordinary offer alright...

[IDBillzFan]

Not so.

 

"It's privileged. Nothin' to see here. Ask Obama, he'll tell you!"

 

Have to tip my hat to CBS News' Sheryl Atkisson, who's broken a lot of the news about this story. Whether the average American will actually give a sh-- as long as they keep getting their free stuff / government monies... well, that's another story.

 

I've never advocated for armed rebellion, but I think this country may be pretty close to it.

There is no question that Atkinson is the one who kept moving this ball. But go to the ABC News website here and find me this story, which is currently the lead on every major news site, including MSNBC.

[GG]

Oh what a difference 5 years makes. Maybe it is a bit different running a country than running for office? This administration is comical.

[Doc]

Oh what a difference 5 years makes. Maybe it is a bit different running a country than running for office.

Or organizing a community.

[erynthered]

I'm not in the least bit surprised by this.

 

snip

 

The White House, in an email to reporters announcing the move, noted that Obama's Republican predecessor President George W. Bush had invoked executive privilege six times, and former President Bill Clinton relied on the doctrine 14 times. Republicans hit back by sending reporters a snippet from a March 2007 interview in which Obama's condemned the Bush Administration's use of executive privilege "every time there's something a little shaky that's taking place" and urging that administration to "come clean."

 

http://news.yahoo.co...-143710603.html

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2012 by erynthered

[B-Man]

Executive Privilige only applies with comunications from or with the President “only”.

 

Holder has already testified that Obama was “not” involved or knew anything about F&F.

 

Now which is it?

 

He knew or he didn’t.

 

Can’t have it both ways.

 

Oh wait, I’m wrong.......................................................I forgot it is the Obama administration.

 

 

 

.

[erynthered]

Executive Privilige only applies with comunications from or with the President "only".

 

Holder has already testified that Obama was "not" involved or knew anything about F&F.

 

Now which is it?

 

He knew or he didn't.

 

Can't have it both ways.

 

Oh wait, I'm wrong.......................................................I forgot it is the Obama administration.

 

 

 

.

 

 

Here's a question for you.

 

Why would the “most transparent administration in history” claim executive privilege to prevent access to information?

 

 

:lol: :lol:

 

 

 

"The assertion of executive privilege raises monumental questions," Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said in a statement released Wednesday shortly after the president's move. "How can the President assert executive privilege if there was no White House involvement? How can the President exert executive privilege over documents he's supposedly never seen? Is something very big being hidden to go to this extreme? The contempt citation is an important procedural mechanism in our system of checks and balances. The questions from Congress go to determining what happened in a disastrous government program for accountability and so that it's never repeated again.”

 

 

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/viewart/20120620/NEWS09/120620005/Obama-asserts-executive-privilege-Fast-Furious-?tw_p=twt

[B-Man]

Senator Chuck Grassley - Iowa ® Senate Judicial Committee

 

“The assertion of executive privilege raises monumental questions, how can the president assert executive privilege if there was no White House involvement?

 

How can the president exert executive privilege over documents he’s supposedly never seen?

 

The contempt citation is an important procedural mechanism in our system of checks and balances,”

 

 

.

[1billsfan]

For a president who has stated he had nothing to do with F&F, he sure the hell owns it now.

 

On the other hand, this would be a good time for the MSM to catch up on F&F since they now have no excuse to ignore the story.

 

 

It's not just him, he's seriously tarnishing the entire democratic party with this move. Everyone will have the stink of coverup on them. Republicans were vilified after Watergate and with today's 24/7 news access, the democratic party was just thrown under the bus by Obama.

 

He was supposed to be the party's savior and he's officially turned into their worst nightmare.

[DC Tom]

Executive Privilige only applies with comunications from or with the President “only”.

 

Holder has already testified that Obama was “not” involved or knew anything about F&F.

 

Now which is it?

 

He knew or he didn’t.

 

Can’t have it both ways.

 

Oh wait, I’m wrong.......................................................I forgot it is the Obama administration.

 

 

 

.

 

And someone (at Justice, probably) is going to argue that "executive privilege" applies to the Executive Branch, not just the President, so its use neither implies the President has direct involvement, nor is limited to issues directly involving the President. And cite the Bush administration as precedent. Big deal...that's going nowhere.

 

The REAL stupidity is that, with the Republican House crying "contempt" and the Democratic Senate sitting on the sidelines, the administration jumps in with both feet and confirms that what should only be an administrative issue (a federal department did something stupid) is now a political football. A political football that can't possibly benefit Obama. In an election year. Frickin' amateur hour.