Bait-and-switch? Or breath-taking chutzpah? Either way, Eric Holder is in big trouble.
The embattled attorney general destroyed what little is left of his credibility yesterday afternoon when he failed to turn over 1,300 subpoenaed and unredacted documents in the Fast and Furious gunrunning scandal to House investigators led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
How did the Justice Department come to OK an operation that handed massive firepower to Mexico’s drug lords, with no hope of tracing the guns and without a word to the Mexican government? Still no good answers, some 18 months after one of those guns was found at the site of the murder of a US Border Patrol agent, while countless others have been used to kill innocent Mexicans.
Nor has Justice handed over more than a token number of the duly subpoenaed documents that might help explain the disaster.
Instead, in a 20-minute meeting that Holder himself had requested to stave off today’s planned contempt citation vote in Issa’s committee, he merely offered to “brief” Issa on their contents.
Holder’s insulting, 11th-hour offer came after he’d already missed a morning deadline to turn over the documents — a small percentage of the total number that Congress has demanded as it tries to get to the bottom of the scandal.
Issa surely feels like Charlie Brown charging the football, with Holder as Lucy. For over a year, he’s been trying to pin down the slippery AG, issuing one “last chance” after another, dragging Holder in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (on top of Senate appearances) and firing off angry letter after angry letter.
Each time, Holder has scampered off, meeting Issa’s legitimate demands with contempt — for the congressman, the Congress itself and the rule of law.
He tried it again yesterday after his offer was rebuffed, calling Issa’s demands “political gamesmanship” and cracking, “The ball’s in their court.”
Um . . . no, Mr. Attorney General. The ball’s in your court — and has been ever since Justice took the extraordinary step of formally “withdrawing” a Feb. 4, 2011 letter from assistant AG Ron Weich — who announced last week that he’s leaving Justice to become dean of the University of Baltimore law school.
20 Jun
Is this the end of Eric Holder’s games?
It seems obvious to me and plenty of people out there, IF you have nothing to hide, then just produce the documents, [already!] AND, if you feel it’s George Bush’s fault, even better, produce HIS documents and you are off the hook!!….But, I don’t think so on both accounts. And, Obumbles??
Executive Order?? Certainly ‘he’ is just getting in ‘gear’ to throw YOU under the proverbial bus Mr Holder… question is how is your loyalty these days Mr Holder? Are you going to drag him along with you under that bus?
One of the things in life is that scoundrels will always be found out… be it one or be it 101 of them!
Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.
-Proverbs 10:9
Obama, clinton, holder , nepalitano, FBI, DEA and ATF are all involved and, are covering up F&F.
Brian Terry was not the only one killed – so was Jamie Zapata, who co-incidently had written a report of his discovery of gun running, F&F operation and discovery of guns involved in crimes.
He was ambushed – it had the appearance that he was set up to be ambushed (may by his own)?
Obama promised the brady campaign to ‘usurp the 2nd amendment, but under the radar, silently’ – that is how the F&F was concocted with the participation of all players listed above.
The guys who really blew the whistle on this criminal enterprise are @
http://www.sipseystreetirregulars.blogspot.com
It has all the info; it was them feeding info to Grassley and Issa – the last one coming directly from moles in holder’s office.
As long as holder remains, obama’s firewall remains – if he falls, so will obama!
Faith, he can’t throw Holder under the bus; Holder will pull him down under the wheels with him.
The problem for Obama is that a crime was committed.
The supreme court had already ruled against Nixon on this basis in regards to executive privilege.
If Obama’s White House is trying to shield its participation in Fast and Furious or a subsequent cover up, that runs counter to a Watergate-era Supreme Court ruling, which holds that executive privilege can’t be used to obscure wrongdoing.
Todd Gaziano writes at the Heritage Foundation:
Obama has apparently declined to play his assigned part in Darrell Issa’s little election year production. You do realize that to anyone living outside the alternate reality of right-wing radio, Issa’s partisan motivations are glaringly obvious?