Project Gunwalker

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NRA Will Score Contempt Vote On Holder

June 20, 2012 by 1 Comment

In a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Chris Cox of the NRA-ILA indicated that the NRA will be using the vote on the contempt citation for Eric Holder to evaluate candidates. They also said that they support the contempt citation for Holder.

The American people – including millions of NRA members and tens of millions of NRA supporters – deserve the truth about these issues, and we will support any effort that leads us to that truth. This is an issue of utmost seriousness and the NRA will consider this vote in future candidate evaluations.

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Contempt Vote Will Continue As Scheduled

June 19, 2012 by 2 Comments

Attorney General Eric Holder met at 5pm today with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) along with Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to discuss the production of certain documents related to Operation Fast and Furious in an attempt to stave off the vote on the contempt citation. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to vote on a contempt citation for Holder for failing to produce subpoenaed documents.

The only thing that could postpone or stop the vote on the contempt citation would be for Eric Holder to deliver a subset of the documents requested by the committee. As of the 5pm meeting, he hadn’t done that and indicated in the meeting that he wasn’t prepared to produce them.

The following is the statement from Chairman Issa on the meeting and the contempt vote.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa made the following statement after his meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:

“I had hoped that after this evening’s meeting I would be able to tell you that the Department had delivered documents that would justify the postponement of tomorrow’s vote on contempt. The Department told the Committee on Thursday that it had documents it could produce that would answer our questions. Today, the Attorney General informed us that the Department would not be producing those documents. The only offer they made involved us ending our investigation.

“While I still hope the Department will reconsider its decision so tomorrow’s vote can be postponed, after this meeting I cannot say that I am optimistic. At this point, we simply do not have the documents we have repeatedly said we need to justify the postponement of a contempt vote in committee.”

While Issa is still holding the door open for postponing the vote on contempt it appears to be closing fast. If his description of what Holder said is accurate – and there is no reason to believe it isn’t – then Holder just thumbed his nose at the Committee again. I think all that Holder accomplishes with his stonewalling is to unite the Committee’s Republicans.

UPDATE: Sen. Chuck Grassley didn’t think much of Eric Holder’s decision to continue withholding the documents.

“The Attorney General wants to trade a briefing and the promise of delivering some small, unspecified set of documents tomorrow for a free pass today. He wants to turn over only what he wants to turn over and not give us any information about what he’s not turning over. That’s unacceptable. I’m not going to buy a pig in a poke. Chairman Issa is right to move forward to seek answers about a disastrous government operation.”

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Mike Hits Another Homerun

June 15, 2012 by 1 Comment

Mike Vanderboegh of SipseyStreetIrregulars must be on the mend from his recent surgery and attendent health problems. He’s just hit another homerun in the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. He’s found definitive links between a murdered ICE agent and Operation Fast and Furious

Slain ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata who was killed in an ambush in Mexico in 2011 was the investigating officer into a seized shipment of firearms headed to Mexico. What makes this significant is that 50 out of the 80 guns seized were guns that walked due to Operation Fast and Furious. The Department of Homeland Security has long denied that Zapata had any connection to Operation Fast and Furious.

Congressional investigators permitted to view Department of Homeland Security documents related to the Fast and Furious operation have located and seen an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Report of Investigation (ROI) from August 2010 describing 80 weapons seized in an arms smuggling interdiction between Phoenix, Arizona and San Antonio, Texas. Of these weapons, the majority (approximately 50) were noted to have come from Operation Fast & Furious in Arizona, purchased by Uriel Patino and Jacob Chambers. The ROI was written and signed by Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jaime Zapata, who was shot dead in an ambush at a fake roadblock in San Luis Potosí, Mexico on 15 February 2011. At the time of the report, Agent Zapata was assigned to the Laredo office.

Two of the weapons found at the murder scene were later traced back to Texas — One was purchased in August 2010 near Houston on behalf of accused drug dealer Manuel Gomez Barba, and the other in October 2010 by a Dallas trafficking ring that included Otilio Osorio and his brother Ranferi. Much like Fast and Furious, both groups had been under ATF surveillance for many months, although ATF officials in Texas later denied that any gunwalking happened in their state. United State Senator John Cornyn has pressed Eric Holder and DOJ for details on any gunwalking in Texas. So far, he has been met with denials or silence.

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE and the Department of Justice have long denied that the case of Jaime Zapata had anything to do with Fast and Furious. The discovery of this ROI by Zapata, “puts the lie to that (expletives deleted) by Napolitano and Holder,” according on source who spoke with this reporter on conditions of absolute anonymity.

Multiple sources including current and former employees of the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security have confirmed this explosive new revelation in the Fast & Furious investigation. Said one source, “I think (DHS) is covering up something big.” He added, “I feel betrayed.”

I wonder what Ms. Napolitano has to say about this. I’ve long considered her to be vying with Eric Holder for the bottom of the barrel in Obama’s cabinet.

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Great Ad From The American Future Fund

June 15, 2012 by

I’ll be honest. I’ve never heard of the American Future Fund nor of any of its board members. That said, they just put out a great ad taking the Obama Administration to task over Operation Fast and Furious.

It is a shame that this ad is only an on-line advertisement. The Powerline Blog says it should be playing TV in all the swing states and I heartily agree. They also said this about it.

With calls for Eric Holder’s resignation growing–John Cornyn’s is the most recent–the time is right. The beauty of pounding away on Fast and Furious is that the administration can’t respond. Until now, Barack Obama and Eric Holder have simply counted on the liberal media to help them cover up the scandal. Holder refuses to answer such an elementary question as who authorized the program, and he feels free to lie in a blatant and arrogant manner. If Fast and Furious is suddenly all over television, what is Obama going to do? Start giving speeches about it?

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New Whistleblowers In Project Gunwalker

June 14, 2012 by

Mike Vanderboegh reported in an exclusive yesterday afternoon that one and maybe two new whistleblowers have come forward in the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. What makes this unique it that they are from the Department of Justice and not BATFE.

Multiple, previously highly credible, sources close to the Gunwalker investigation report that there are at least one and perhaps two sources within the Department of Justice headquarters who have approached the Issa Committee seeking whistleblower status. One source, who reported that there were at least two of Eric Holder’s subordinates who “came in from the cold,” characterized them as “high-level” DOJ employees “with knowledge of Eric Holder’s actions before and after” the 4 February 2011 DOJ letter denying that the DOJ and its subordinate agencies knew about “gunwalking.” That letter has since been admitted by DOJ to have been a lie. If true, one or both of these whistleblowers may be the so-called “mole” — a source within DOJ said to have been leaking documents, including the wiretap affidavits, to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

What they bring with them from the cold, according to one source, is “the keys to the kingdom as far as Holder is concerned,” adding “if this comes out before the (contempt) vote (on 20 June), then Holder is toast.” Said another, “not even Boehner will be able to stop it. Hell, he’ll really jump on board and act like it was his idea.”

This could be one of the reasons that Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) scheduled a vote for next Wednesday on the contempt citation. Moreover, this could be behind Attorney General Eric Holder’s invitation to Rep. Issa, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to meet with him privately to discuss Project Gunwalker. Both Issa and Boehner have declined the invitation until such time as Holder provides the subpoenaed documents.

The offer to meet with Issa, Boehner, and Grassley came after Holder had turned down a request for a meeting from a bi-partisan group of representatives including Trey Gowdy (R-SC), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Bobby Scott (D-VA). Gowdy had this to say about Holder’s refusal to meet:

Gowdy said that because Holder is seeking a meeting with leadership rather than with the actual investigators or with members really close to the scandal like him, “that tells me that you’re interested in a political resolution.”

“I’m not interested in a negotiation,” Gowdy said. “I’m interested in the documents. If this were political, then I’d say ‘Sure, let’s compromise.’ But, it’s not political to me. It’s about law enforcement, law and order, respect for the rule of law, confidence in the Justice Department — I want the documents.”

Gowdy went to say that when Speaker John Boehner green-lighted the contempt vote in House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that  Eric Holder realized that time was running out.

I tend to agree with that. I had thought Holder would be around come November but now I am seriously reconsidering that. Michael Bane in his last podcast said he thought Holder would throw himself under the bus come September in order to help Obama. If the whistleblowers come forward and are credible, I think Holder could be gone by mid-summer. Time will tell.

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John Cornyn Goes For The Jugular

June 12, 2012 by

This weekend we watched a bit of the French Open tennis tournament. It is always interesting to watch really good tennis players set up their opponent for the kill shot. At first it just seems that they are in a long rally with the ball going back and forth (and back and forth). In reality, they are maneuvering their opponent into position for the put away. It is a joy to watch when it all comes together.

So, too, it was with today’s Senate Judiciary Committee when Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) led Attorney General Eric Holder into that trap. Cornyn starts off by asking questions about the investigation into the national security leaks and the people appointed to run the investigation. The questions start off looking like easy lobs. Cornyn then goes for the jugular at which point Holder realizes he’s just been trapped. He tries to escape but Cornyn doesn’t let him.

It was a joy to watch.

The full 12 minute exchange can be found here if you are interested. An abbreviated version of the “kill shot” is below which should stop at the 6:51 mark.

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Contempt Vote Scheduled For June 20th

June 11, 2012 by 3 Comments

A vote on holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress has been scheduled by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for June 20th. I think this indicates that Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA)  has the number of votes needed to get the contempt citation out of committee and to the floor of the House of Representatives. You just wouldn’t see a committee chair schedule something this serious if he wasn’t absolutely certain he had the votes for it to pass. Moreover, as Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s statement indicates, Issa has the (tepid) support of the House leadership.

From the committee’s release about the vote:

On June 20th, the Oversight Committee will meet to consider a report holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his failure to produce subpoenaed documents related to Operation Fast & Furious.

WASHINGTON— On Wednesday, June 20, 2012, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will convene to consider a report holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his failure to produce documents specified in the Committee’s October 12, 2011, subpoena. Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa issued the following statement on the scheduling of a Committee vote on contempt:

“For over a year and a half, the House Oversight Committee, with Senator Chuck Grassley, has conducted a joint investigation of reckless conduct in Operation Fast and Furious. With the support of House leadership, the Republican Conference, and even some Democratic Members who have expressed concern to the White House over the Justice Department’s failure to cooperate, this investigation has yielded significant results. The Attorney General has acknowledged that the operation was fundamentally flawed and he has committed to take steps to ensure that it does not occur again. Evidence found in applications for wiretaps shows that although senior officials were given information about reckless tactics, they still signed affirmations that they had reviewed the investigation and determined that electronic surveillance of phones was necessary.

“Despite what the investigation has uncovered through whistleblowers and documents the Justice Department had tried to hide, the Committee’s work is not yet complete. Attorney General Holder has failed to meet his legal obligations pursuant to the October 12 subpoena. House leaders reiterated this failure in a May 18, 2012, letter. Specifically, the Justice Department has refused to turn over critical documents on the grounds that they show internal Department deliberations and were created after February 4, 2011 – the date Justice issued a false denial to Congress. Contempt will focus on the failure to provide these post February 4th documents.

“The Obama Administration has not asserted Executive Privilege or any other valid privilege over these materials and it is unacceptable that the Department of Justice refuses to produce them. These documents pertain to Operation Fast and Furious, the claims of whistleblowers, and why it took the Department nearly a year to retract false denials of reckless tactics. The Justice Department’s actions have obstructed the investigation. Congress has an obligation to investigate unanswered questions about attempts to smear whistleblowers, failures by Justice Department officials to be truthful and candid with the congressional investigation, and the reasons for the significant delay in acknowledging reckless conduct in Operation Fast and Furious.

“While the Justice Department can still stop the process of contempt, this will only occur through the delivery of the post February 4, 2011, documents related to Operation Fast and Furious and whistleblower accusations subpoenaed by the Committee. If the Attorney General decides to produce these subpoenaed documents, I am confident we can reach agreement on other materials and render the process of contempt unnecessary.”

Committee consideration of a contempt citation is a debatable and amendable measure. Committee approval requires a majority vote. Contempt is a process for enforcing compliance with a lawful subpoena and does not assign blame for the flawed and reckless conduct that took place in Operation Fast and Furious.

CBS’s Sharyl Attkisson has a video report on the vote including some background on past contempt citations for members of the Executive Branch.

Mike Vanderboegh does disagree with one comment made at the end of the CBS story which claims credit for exposing the scandal nationally. As he notes – and I agree with him – this ignores the work of both he and David Codrea in bringing it to light and bringing the whistleblowers to the media.

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Are Republican Leaders Finally Getting Off The Stick?

June 11, 2012 by

It looks like the House Republican leadership is finally getting off the stick with regard to Project Gunwalker and a contempt of Congress citation for Attorney General Eric Holder. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor just issued a statement regarding the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s plan to take up consideration of a contempt citation.

“As Attorney General Holder has acknowledged, ‘Fast and Furious’ was a fundamentally flawed operation. Despite repeated opportunities, the Department of Justice has refused to cooperate with the requests made by Congress for information surrounding the operation. Congress can no longer wait. Assuming Attorney General Holder continues to stonewall, we will have no choice but to hold him in contempt for his failure to provide the documents necessary to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. I thank Chairman Issa and the Oversight Committee for their dedication and vigilance on this issue.”

It surely is not as strong a statement as I and many others would like but it is a start.

UPDATE: I see that Speaker John Boehner has also released a statement in support of contempt for Eric Holder. While it like that of Cantor is rather tepid, it is a bit more than the earlier letter sent by the House leadership.

“The Justice Department is out of excuses. Congress has given Attorney General Holder more than enough time to fully cooperate with its investigation into ‘Fast and Furious,’ and to help uncover the circumstances regarding the death of Border Agent Brian Terry. Agent Terry’s family, the whistleblowers who brought this issue to light, and the American people deserve answers. Either the Justice Department turns over the information requested, or Congress will have no choice but to move forward with holding the Attorney General in contempt for obstructing an ongoing investigation.”

It is obvious that Holder’s testimony last week before the House Judiciary Committee did him no favors and has increased the pressure on him to comply with the Oversight Committee.

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An Apology

June 8, 2012 by 1 Comment

I had planned to have a series of posts on yesterday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing that featured Attorney General Eric Holder up last night. However, my sinuses felt like someone had stuck a red hot poker up my nose.

There was a lot of coverage of the hearing from Katie Pavlich at Townhall.com and Matthew Boyle at the Daily Caller along with Mike Vanderboegh’s take on it at Sipsey Street Irregulars and David Codrea’s take at the National Gun Rights Examiner. They all have good stuff.