Friday, December 2, 2011

Department of Justice Liars Explain "Inaccurate Statements" Regarding Operation Fast and Furious


Nothing like waiting until Friday night to dump documents you hope get pushed under the rug by Monday.  The Department of Justice just released documentation to explain how they gave the Senate Judiciary Committe "inaccurate information" about Operation Fast and Furious

I sincerely hope that the snake, Attorney General Eric Holder, doesn't slither out of being responsible for Operation Fast and Furious.  He must be fired and take the consequences for this debacle.

Via: The Drudge Report

Justice Dept. details how it got statements wrong

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday provided Congress with documents detailing how department officials gave inaccurate information to a U.S. senator in the controversy surrounding Operation Fast and Furious, the flawed law enforcement initiative aimed at dismantling major arms trafficking networks on the Southwest border.
In a letter last February to Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department said that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had not sanctioned the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser and that the agency makes every effort to intercept weapons that have been purchased illegally. In Operation Fast and Furious, both statements turned out to be incorrect.
The Justice Department letter was responding to Grassley's statements that the Senate Judiciary Committee had received allegations the ATF had sanctioned the sale of hundreds of assault weapons to suspected straw purchasers. Grassley also said there were allegations that two of the assault weapons had been used in a shootout that killed customs agent Brian Terry.
In an email four days later to Justice Department colleagues, then-U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke in Phoenix said that "Grassley's assertions regarding the Arizona investigation and the weapons recovered" at the "murder scene are based on categorical falsehoods. I worry that ATF will take 8 months to answer this when they should be refuting its underlying accusations right now." That email marked the start of an internal debate in the Justice Department over what and how much to say in response to Grassley's allegations. The fact that there was an ongoing criminal investigation into Terry's murder prompted some at the Justice Department to argue for less disclosure.
Some of what turned out to be incorrect information was emailed to Lanny Breuer, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's criminal division. Breuer sent an email saying "let's help as much as we can" in responding to Grassley.
The emails sent to Capitol Hill on Friday showed that Burke supplied additional incorrect information to the Justice Department's criminal division that ended up being forwarded to Breuer. 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 and the guns found at the Terry murder scene were part of the probe. Breuer was one of the recipients of that information. In written comments this week to Grassley, Breuer said that he was on a three-day official trip to Mexico at the time of the Justice Department response and that he was aware of, but not involved in, drafting the Justice Department statements to Grassley. Breuer says he cannot say for sure whether he saw a draft of the letter before it was sent to Grassley.
Where Burke got the inaccurate information is now part of an inquiry conducted by the inspector general's office at the Justice Department.  Read more...
Here's another article about the story, including the DOJ e-mails.

Justice Dept. Fast and Furious emails show disagreement over response to Grassley

More than 1,000 pages of frenzied email exchanges were fired back and forth among Justice Department officials, as they weighed how to respond to initial inquires about the gunwalker scandal. Today, the agency turned over those subpoenaed records to Congress in advance of a hearing next week with Attorney General Eric Holder.  Read more...

6 comments:

  1. Oh boy the media is worthless.

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  2. We are not allowed to call our betters "liars" in England because that might "cause alarm or distress" and is thus a Hate Crime.

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  3. This administration, and particularly the justice department, make the Nixon administration look as honest as the day is long.

    Nixon's AG John Mitchell is a piker, compared to Eric Holder. And Nixon himself, what was his horrible crime that ruined his legacy? He stood up for some idiots out of loyalty, when he probably should have thrown them under the bus.

    I bet Nixon's 'enemies list' could fit on the back of a napkin, while Obama's is longer than my arm.

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  4. banned:
    The Obama Administration has already accused conservatives and the Tea Party of not being "civil" in their speech. Of course, that "civility" doesn't apply to them, because they can say whatever they like about conservatives and the Tea Party, (e.g., terrorists, "they can go to hell".
    I wouldn't be surprised that if Obama gets another term, we bloggers will be tracked down and thrown in the slammer for "hate crimes against the "annointed one".

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fredd:
    Ain't that the truth! This administration is THE most corrupt ever.

    ReplyDelete

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