I tried for months to get FLEOA onboard with fast n furious until I was fed up with their BS!! .Now I know why I never renewed my membership!

Thank u Leader for sharing this information. It surely confirms the smoke and mirrors theory!

By Sari Horwitz President Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget proposes $36.5 billion in spending for the Justice Department, an increase of $1.9 billion from the previous year.

More than $700 million is proposed to combat financial, mortgage and other fraud, an increase of $55 million over the previous budget. The proposed funding would go toward more FBI agents, criminal prosecutors, civil litigators, in-house investigators and forensic accountants to investigate and prosecute financial fraud.

Noting a continuing downward trend in violent crime rates, the administration is proposing a slight decrease, to $12.4 billion, in funding for the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals.

The ATF, which has been battered this year with allegations of “gunwalking” to Mexico in a botched firearms operation out of its Phoenix division, would have its funding cut by $12 million. ATF officials and agents have long complained about a lack of resources.

An additional $138 million cut in law enforcement operations would come from “savings and administrative efficiencies.” Task forces with similar missions would be considered for consolidation or elimination, and gang and drug intelligence and operations would be streamlined, reduced or eliminated.

Justice Department officials cite “an alarming rise in intellectual property crimes” as the reason behind $40 million devoted to identifying and defeating intellectual property criminals, an increase of $5 million over the 2012 budget. Federal officials have already shut down 350 Web sites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of counterfeit goods and copyrighted works, such as the recent <a target="_blank" href="http://www.washingto....html">shutdown of the popular Megaupload Web site. The budget proposes a $378 million cut in the Office of Justice Programs, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Office on Violence Against Women.

The increase in funding for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes comes one week after the historic $25 billion settlement between federal and state officials and five of the nation’s largest banks to provide relief to distressed homeowners in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. It also comes weeks after Obama announced the creation of a task force aimed at investigating the shoddy mortgage-lending practices that contributed to the financial collapse of 2008.

I have been saying for weeks now that ATF is going to be thrown under the bus!..It is coming in a huge fashion..The DOJ needs to put some distance between it and the ATF as soon as possible..Holder is in the HOT SEAT and it is getting mighty warm for his lying self!

And Melson..Well you all know Melson!

We will see which little piggy's squeal the loudest when House Oversight starts issuing subpoenas this spring..Y'all better duck cause the finger pointing is going to be every where..Ya Might lose and eye!

Three lying self serving Jackwagons..Priceless and well done!!

Please let me know as soon as possible about this link..I will send it to all of my contacts..in federal law enforcement...

Please visit CleanUpATF.org on Monday, November 14th.

This is very important!!!



A link will be available for everyone to sign this Petition, in which will be sent personally (from a fellow CleanUp member) to the Oversight Committee!

Please sign it!!! If you know Retired or Ex-ATF members, I highly encourage you to tell them about it!!!

I posted new content last week about this Petition...Vince is definitely on board with this one!


Like I posted last week...I'm tired of talking.

I'm doing something and with your help...we will be doing something!!!

Can anyone please explain this to me before my head explodes?

HIDALGO - Police say a Mexican federal agent was caught with several rounds of ammo and a dummy grenade but won’t face any charges.Last week, local authorities say someone tried to cross the Hidalgo bridge carrying weapons and a grenade. Turns out, much of what happened may never be told. The feds aren't prosecuting.Federal agents and officers stepped up southbound inspections in recent months. They're looking for cash and weapons going south. Sources say the Mexican federal agent had hundreds of rounds of ammunition, tactical gear and a grenade. The grenade found wasn't live. It was hollowed out.Federal authorities there at the bridge could not talk about the incident because it's not being prosecuted. The U.S. Attorney General's Office says they can't talk about their prosecutorial discretion process. The case is still under investigation.They can't talk about their prosecutorial discretion process?...Really?..Well guess what!..They will talk about with it me!..If I have to file my own lawsuit these cretins will talk!

Government Investigations

Holders statements regarding Fast N Furious have been lies..Documents prove that...Any comments he has made to the media concerning this has been nothing but political BS!!...From the evidence I have seen so far..I am convinced this was contrived with Holder..Lanny Breuer and it is looking more like the Whitehouse.!

Lets take it to 'em..

I would also like to remind any of you that you can give a statement to the House Oversight Committee VIA the website and not give your name..The more House Oversight receives from all of you...The easier it is to take down the corrupt ones.And I am not just talking about Fast N Furious...ANY wrong doing done by anyone within the ATF or DOJ...I spend 16 hours a day working on this...It is now my new career to see to it these bottom feeders get their just desserts in all of this..You're either for it or against it..either way this will be taken care of!

House Oversight..Use The Whistleblower link

Attorney General Eric Holder will tell the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow morning that ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious was “flawed in concept, as well as in execution” and should never have happened, according to excerpts from his testimony released by the Justice Department on Monday evening. But he will take a shot at Republican lawmakers for focusing on “headline-grabbing Washington ‘gotcha’ games and cynical political point scoring” instead of working with DOJ to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

From Holder’s prepared remarks:

…I’d like to take a moment to address the public safety crisis of guns flowing across our border into Mexico - and the local law enforcement operation known as “Fast and Furious” that has brought renewed public attention to this shared national security threat. I want to be clear: any instance of so-called “gun walking” is unacceptable. This operation was flawed in concept, as well as in execution. And, unfortunately, we will feel its effects for years to come as guns that were lost during this operation continue to show up at crimes scenes both here and in Mexico. This should never have happened. And it must never happen again. To ensure that it will not, after learning about the allegations raised by ATF agents involved with Fast and Furious, I took action. I asked the Department’s Inspector General to investigate the matter, and I ordered that a directive be sent to the Department’s law enforcement agents and prosecutors stating that such tactics violate Department policy and will not be tolerated. * * * As you all know, the trafficking of firearms across our Southwest Border has long been a serious problem - one that has contributed to approximately 40,000 deaths in the last five years. The mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious, serious though they were, should not deter or distract us from our critical mission to disrupt the dangerous flow of firearms along our Southwest Border. I have supported a number of aggressive, innovative steps to do so and our work has yielded significant successes. We’ve built crime-fighting capacity on both sides of the border by developing new procedures for using evidence gathered in Mexico to prosecute gun traffickers in U.S. courts; by training thousands of Mexican prosecutors and investigators; by successfully fighting to enhance sentencing guidelines for convicted traffickers and straw purchasers; and by pursuing coordinated, multi-district investigations of gun-trafficking rings. This year alone, we have led successful investigations into the murders of U.S. citizens in Mexico, created new cartel-targeting prosecutorial units, and secured the extradition of 104 defendants wanted by U.S. law enforcement - including the former head of the Tijuana Cartel. This work has undoubtedly saved and improved lives in the United States as well as Mexico. I am personally committed to combating gun trafficking and reducing the alarming rate of violence along the Southwest Border by using effective - and appropriate - tools. * * * Like each of you, I want to know why and how firearms that should have been under surveillance could wind up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. But beyond identifying where errors occurred and ensuring that they never occur again, we must be careful not to lose sight of the critical problem that this flawed investigation has highlighted: we are losing the battle to stop the flow of illegal guns to Mexico. That means we have a responsibility to act. And, we can start by listening to the agents who serve on the front lines of this battle. Not only did they bring the inappropriate and misguided tactics of Operation Fast and Furious to light, they also sounded the alarm to Congress that they need our help. ATF agents who testified before a House committee this summer explained that the agency’s ability to stem the flow of guns from the United States into Mexico suffers from a lack of effective enforcement tools. One critical first step should be for Congressional leaders to work with us to provide ATF with the resources and statutory tools it needs to be effective. Another would be for Congress to fully fund our request for teams of agents to fight gun trafficking. Unfortunately, earlier this year the House of Representatives actually voted to keep law enforcement in the dark when individuals purchase multiple semi-automatic rifles and shotguns in Southwest border gun shops. Providing law enforcement with the tools to detect and disrupt illegal gun trafficking is entirely consistent with the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens and it is critical to addressing the public safety crisis on the Southwest border. As someone who has seen the consequences of gun violence firsthand - and who has promised far too many grieving families that I would do everything in my power not only to seek justice on behalf of their loved ones, but also to prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies - I am determined to ensure that our shared concerns about Operation Fast and Furious lead to more than headline-grabbing Washington “gotcha” games and cynical political point scoring.

Sen. Patrick Leahy has asked DOJ’s Inspector General to make sure they look into Bush-era “gun walking” as well. Government Corruption Site

Jason Ryan, Jack Cloherty and Pierre Thomas report: The National Rifle Association is turning up the heat on Attorney General Eric Holder, running television ads charging that he committed perjury in congressional testimony about the controversial “Fast and Furious” undercover, gun-running operation. The ad calls on President Obama to fire Holder. Things could get even hotter for the attorney general Tuesday, when he returns to Congress to be questioned again about Fast and Furious. The NRA ad is the latest salvo in a battle between critics in Congress and the Justice Department on the controversial “gun-walking” operation. Run by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Fast and Furious involved tracking weapons sold to straw purchasers, who then passed the guns along to their hidden buyers in the Mexican drug cartels. Hundreds of guns flowed into Mexico under the program, while ATF agents watched and did nothing. The ATF says it hoped to track the guns to their ultimate destination, and then make arrests. Instead, many of the guns were used in crimes, including one that was used in the murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. The controversy has focused on testimony Holder provided to the House Judiciary Committee May 3, 2011. During that hearing, Rep. Darell Issa, R-Calif., who is spearheading the congressional investigation, asked Holder, “When did you first know about the program officially, I believe, called Fast and Furious? To the best of your knowledge, what date?” Holder answered: “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.” The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released last month a series of Justice Department memos sent to Holder’s office going back to July 2010, that made reference about the gun trafficking investigation being run out of Arizona. Justice Department officials say the memos are only generic updates and offer no detail or specifics of ATF strategies to allow the guns to pass in large numbers. A paragraph in a July 5, 2010, weekly update briefing to the attorney general makes broad reference to Fast and Furious but makes no reference to the specific tactics used. “This investigation, initiated in September 2009 in conjunction with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Phoenix Police Department, involves a Phoenix-based firearms trafficking ring headed by Manuel Celis-Acosta. Celis-Acosta and [redacted] straw purchasers are responsible for the purchase of 1,500 firearms that were then supplied to Mexican drug trafficking cartels.” Holder has stood by his previous statements, writing to members of Congress Oct. 7, “Much has been made in the past few days about my congressional testimony earlier this year regarding Fast and Furious. My testimony was truthful and accurate and I have been consistent on this point throughout. I have no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious or of hearing its name prior to the public controversy about it. “Prior to early 2011, I certainly never knew about the tactics employed in the operation and it is my understanding that the former United States Attorney for the District of Arizona and the former Acting Director and Deputy Director of ATF have told Congress that they, themselves, were unaware of the tactics employed,” Holder wrote. In prepared testimony released Monday evening, Holder reiterates previous comments about the flawed operation in a statement, asserting, “This operation was flawed in concept, as well as in execution. And, unfortunately, we will feel its effects for years to come as guns that were lost during this operation continue to show up at crimes scenes both here and in Mexico. This should never have happened. And it must never happen again.”
The investigation into Fast and Furious has also revealed previous instances of guns going into Mexico from other ATF operations in Arizona. Operation “Wide Receiver” pre-dated Fast and Furious and spans back to March 2006 during the Bush administration. The ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Arizona were investigating a gun trafficking case but did not press charges until the Justice Department’s Criminal Division Gang Unit moved forward with the case in 2009 and moved to bring indictments in 2010. As Wide Receiver moved closer toward indictment, Justice Department officials in the Criminal Division noted serious concerns about ATF’s tactics in the case by letting guns into Mexico. Lanny Breuer, the assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division, said last week he made mistakes after being briefed last year about Wide Receiver but says he never raised the issue of the gun tactics to Holder or the deputy attorney general. “I wish that at that time that I had said clearly to the deputy attorney general and the attorney general that in this case, Wide Receiver, we had determined that in 2006 and 2007, guns had walked,” Breuer said, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Nov. 1. ”I did not do that, and I regret not doing that. “At the time, I thought that, dealing with the leadership of ATF was sufficient and reasonable,” Breuer said. The Justice Department’s inspector general, at Holder’s request, is investigating Fast and Furious. Sen. Patrick Leah, D-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has also asked the inspector general to review Operation Wide Receiver. Everyone is this entire country needs to turn up the heat on this lawless moron!..Eric Holder and Lanny Breuer have been lawless in their entire careers...The time has come for them to pay for their crimes like anyone else!...They are NOT above the law...Not one soul in our country is above the law!...I personally have had it with government officials and their corruption and also those who see it and do nothing!..

Rene Jaquez I am almost positive will be called to testify before the committee...at some point..I am going to check and make sure..This investigation is far from over folks...This is going to be a long time in the works..Many Agents will be called to testify..I also agree with everything Vince said below..Now is the time to have each others back and cut the petty stuff...This can happen to anyone at anytime....

Senate Judiciary Committee Full Committee

DATE: November 8, 2011
TIME: 10:00 AM
ROOM: Dirksen 226

OFFICIAL HEARING NOTICE / WITNESS LIST:

October 31, 2011

NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing entitled “Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice” for Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

By order of the Chairman.

Witness List

Hearing before the
Senate Committee on the Judiciary

On

“Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice”

Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226
10:00 a.m.

The Honorable Eric H. Holder Jr.
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Washington, DC

Conservative activist Joseph Connor has launched a grassroots effort asking voters to push their congressmen and senators to call for Attorney General Eric Holder’s immediate resignation.

To date 35 members of Congress, all of them in the House of Representatives, have called for Holder’s departure from the Department of Justice.

“The [Operation] Fast and Furious scheme, where more than 2,000 rifles were knowingly and willfully allowed to be transported from the United States into Mexico, has now been linked to a number of deaths on both sides of the border, including two United States federal agents,” Connor wrote in an email sent out to conservative voters and activists. “The scandal has now become a full-scale criminal investigation enveloping several agencies.”

Connor’s letter explains some Americans’ skepticism of an internal investigation reportedly being conducted by Holder and DOJ Inspector General Cynthia Schnedar. “Ms. Schnedar has long ties to Mr. Holder, and she recently released secret tapes which compromised the investigation,” Connor writes. “Mr. Holder apparently has no intention to appoint a truly independent investigator.”

The email describes how, during the Clinton administration, Holder was a key officials who led the charge to pardon Puerto Rican terrorists from the Armed Forces for National Liberation (FALN). Those FALN terrorists, Connor wrote in August 2008, “proudly claimed responsibility for my father’s [Frank Connor’s] murder.”

“This kind of scandal and denial is nothing new to Mr. Holder,” Connor wrote of the aftermath of Operation Fast and Furious. “He has a demonstrated pattern of dangerous disregard for the American citizens he is sworn to protect. As Deputy Attorney General he engineered executive clemency for the unrepentant terrorists of the FALN and an international fugitive, Marc Rich, who sold arms to our enemies.”

“In order to maintain his effectiveness and insure the credibility of the Justice Department, The Attorney General of the United States must operate at a legal, honest and ethical level above reproach,” Connor continues. “Mr. Holder clearly falls short of those minimal requirements.”

I would like to let all of you know that I have been investigating Fast N Furious and have a very long way to go!

The reason I am appealing to all Agents or ATF staff who have direct knowledge of the things going on with upper management within ATF or the DOJ concerning...Perjury...Falsifying documents..Altering documents..harassment...Making false statements...Using their position for personal gain...Using bureau assets for personal use..Unethical practices.

I would like for everyone who has knowledge about any of the above to please put it in writing and send it to the House Oversight Committee, I will post the address below..or send it to me by email and I will see to it that the House Oversight Committee gets it...I have been investigating not only Fast N Furious but also those in upper management in the bureau..The time has come for the abuses and corruption to end..It needs to be stopped now!

If you request to remain nameless I understand..and will keep you in full confidence.

I have discussed with Chairman Issa about the House Oversight Committee opening hearing about the problems within the bureau..The excuse that it hasn't had a permanent director is a poor excuse...This has been going on for years even when they had directors..Higgins comes to mind...

I want to see something done about this before I die..All I ask is for you to please write a statement to the best of your knowledge about your own case or one you have direct knowledge of..I have submitted my reports to the committee and today I got the call that they will take this up after the first of the year 2012...But we still need more statements..Your cooperation would be deeply appreciated by those who have been messed over unjustly.

Help me to help you or your fellow Agents and employees.

Your statements will not be shared with anyone other than House Oversight Committee Investigators nor will they be published without your express written permission.


Thank you

Mike Presnell


Send your statements to:

2157 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING, WASHINGTON, DC 20515
PHONE: (202) 225-5074 FAX: (202) 225-3974

Or you can use this link at the House Oversight Committee...Click the link and go to the whistleblower link at the top of the page and fill out the message form..House Oversight Whistleblower form

Email me...director@fastnfuriousinvestigation.com Or you can call me anytime...520-870-6177..

By Joseph F. Connor



The Fast and Furious scheme, where more than 2,000 rifles were knowingly and willfully allowed to be transported from the United States into Mexico, has now been linked to a number of deaths on both sides of the border, including two United States federal agents. The scandal has now become a full-scale criminal investigation enveloping several agencies, including; the Justice Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Attorney’s office in Arizona and now even includes the White House.

President Obama and Attorney General Holder have repeatedly stated that Justice Department Acting Inspector General (Cynthia A. Schnedar) is currently conducting the internal investigation. However, Ms. Schnedar has long ties to Mr. Holder, and she recently released secret tapes which compromised the investigation. Mr. Holder apparently has no intention to appoint a truly independent investigator. Despite his denials, there are a number of memoranda that suggest that Attorney General Holder knew of the operation well before the time period that he stated in his congressional testimony, and that other Justice Department and White House staff were aware of the operation as well.

This kind of scandal and denial is nothing new to Mr. Holder. He has a demonstrated pattern of dangerous disregard for the American citizens he is sworn to protect. As Deputy Attorney General he engineered executive clemency for the unrepentant terrorists of the FALN and an international fugitive, Marc Rich, who sold arms to our enemies. In order to maintain his effectiveness and ensure the credibility of the Justice Department, The Attorney General of the United States must operate at a legal, honest and ethical level above reproach. Mr. Holder clearly falls short of those minimal requirements.


Currently a growing number of at least 34 Congressmen and women have called for Mr. Holder’s immediate resignation.

If you agree that Holder should resign, please use the attached web links to contact Congress. Let your Congressperson or Senator know that Eric Holder’s behavior has been malfeasant at minimum and his immediate resignation from the post of Attorney General of the United States should be demanded.

http://www.house.gov/representatives/
http://www.senate.go...fm.cfm?State=NJ
The following is suggested text. If your Congressperson or Senator uses a form email from which you must select a topic, appropriate choices would be Crime, Judiciary or Government Affairs. If you do not know your 4 digit zip code extension required to submit a comment, you can find it on this site:

http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
Dear Senator/Congressperson
The mismanagement of the Fast & Furious investigation has brought to light the incompetence and lack of candor by the Department of Justice and Attorney General Eric Holder in particular. Mr. Holder has failed to execute his office in a responsible manner, and has attempted to obfuscate facts surrounding this matter. In light of this I believe it is your responsibility to call for the immediate resignation of Mr. Holder and appointment of a truly independent counsel to carry out an impartial investigation of Fast & Furious and related government operations which put both the American public and Mexican public at risk.


Your constituent,
Name:
Address:
Telephone number:


Director Border Narcotics Intelligence

By Roger Wilke.Writing for Fast N Furious Investigation




Congressional investigators sought Wednesday to expand their investigation of the controversial DOJ approved illegal sale of firearms in Arizona to include an apparently similar operation in Texas.

In both cases, illegally-sold weapons were allowed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to "walk" across the U.S.-Mexico border, and ended up being involved in the killing of U.S. Agents.

In the Texas case, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Jaime Zapata, who was working for the United States in Mexico, was murdered February 15 when his vehicle was ambushed by about 10 gunmen on a major highway between Mexico City and Monterrey.

Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was gunned down December 15, 2010 by Mexican bandits in Peck Canyon, Arizona.
As well as over 200 deaths of Mexican people.

Investigators across the United States are working hard to dig up facts on operation Fast N Furious, so that those responsible can be held accountable for their crimes.

One investigator out of Arizona said," Fast N Furious is the largest investigation our country has ever seen and that is will take a lot of time to get all of the facts lined up so that those involved in the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco And Firearms as well as he Department Of Justice and even possibly the Whitehouse can be held accountable through criminal prosecution for violating a number of U.S. laws.

Investigators will converge on Texas and New Mexico here soon to get to the bottom of these horrible crimes allegedly committed by government officials doing the dirty work of the Obama administration in order to enact more gun laws on the American people.

In a free society this type of crimes will not stand.Those involved should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and Eric Holder and Barack Obama should be removed from office immediately while waiting on their Grand Jury indictments.

Fast N Furious Investigation

Holder's 'Right To Lie'

This administration's lawless activities have got to be stopped. AG Holder needs to be in jail for his corruption as well as carrying out the corruption of Obama.!

Scandal: A Department of Justice withholding Fast and Furious gun-running information from Congress proposes shredding the Freedom of Information Act by being able to deny certain documents even exist.

The most transparent administration in history has struck another blow for opaqueness with a proposed new federal regulation expanding its ability to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, as the new rule states, "as if the excluded documents did not exist."

Current provisions that allow for denying access to documents are found in 5 U.S.C. section 552© and were enacted in 1986.

Government can deny document access if the FOIA requester is under criminal investigation and the investigation would be jeopardized, when the request concern's an informant whose identity is otherwise not known, or when the request seeks records "pertaining to foreign intelligence or counterintelligence, or international terrorism, and the existence of the records is classified information."

In denying the request, the government must cite the relevant exemption. The requester can then challenge the denial in court. The proposed rule change would allow the government to just say the documents don't exist, eviscerating FOIA and pre-empting the right to challenge the secrecy. A court cannot examine a document the government says doesn't exist.

The public's right to know is not absolute. Yet under current rules a court can determine whether the government's request for secrecy is justified. Even when documents are redacted to the point of meaninglessness at least we know they exist.

DOJ says it's a long-standing practice dating back to a 1987 memo from then-Attorney General Edwin Meese. That memo did not have the force of law and was recently challenged in court in a case involving the Islamic Council of California after the plaintiffs learned of documents the FBI said didn't exist.

"The government cannot, under any circumstance, affirmatively mislead the court. The court simply cannot perform its constitutional function if the government does not tell the truth," the judge wrote.

Neither can a democracy long sustain itself if the government has a right to lie.

Yet Melanie Ann Pustay, director of the Justice Department's Office of Information Policy, which wants to function like George Orwell's Ministry of Truth, says government does have the right to lie.

"To ensure the integrity of the exclusion is maintained, agencies must ensure that their responses do not reveal the existence of excluded records," she says.

A final version of the proposed rule could be issued by the end of this year. If approved, the new rule would officially become a federal regulation with the force of law. Presumably the Nixon White House could have used the rule during Watergate to say, "Tape? What tape? It doesn't exist." This rule is more effective than any number of shredders could be.

The rule comes at a time when the Department of Justice is actively stonewalling Congress on requests for information on the Fast and Furious government-sponsored gun-running operation that smuggled 2,000 weapons into Mexico. The weapons were involved in the deaths of two U.S. agents, Brian Terry and Jaime Zapata. Then there are the excesses of crony capitalism such as Solyndra, which prompted an FBI raid.

What we know about such incidents has been gleaned largely from documents and emails the government was forced to disclose. They showed, among other things, that the attorney general of the United States flat-out lied about what he knew about Fast and Furious and when he knew it.

It is this rule that needs to be shredded. We need to know the truth about what the government is doing to hold it accountable. The consent of the governed needs to be an informed consent.

Government Corruption

The evidence the House Oversight Committee has on this administration is staggering...I can not wait until the American people will finally get to see it.!...My investigation into certain higher level ATF officials is moving along very well..I hope to have 6 to 8 cases to submit to the House Judiciary Committee by the first week of January 2012..

ATF gunwalker update: Eric Holder to testify on Fast and Furious



Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 3, 2011, before a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing.(Credit: CBS News) CBS News has learned Attorney General Eric Holder has agreed to appear before the House Judiciary Committee regarding "Fast and Furious." The hearing will take place Dec. 8th.

Judiciary Committee member and head of the House Oversight Committee Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) had requested that Holder appear, in part to dig deeper into when-he-knew-what about ATF's so-called "gunwalking" operation Fast and Furious.

In May, Holder testified that he only first heard about Fast and Furious a few weeks before. However, as CBS News reported, documents and memos indicate he had been sent multiple briefings mentioning Fast and Furious in 2010.

Holder later explained in a letter to Congress that he didn't read those memos, and that in any event, nobody at the Justice Department who knew of Fast and Furious was aware of the specific "gunwalking" tactics used.

More Fast and Furious coverage

Memos contradict Holder on Fast and Furious
Agent: I was ordered to let guns "walk" into Mexico
Gunwalking scandal uncovered at ATF

Also today, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) requested a public hearing with the former Director of ATF: Kenneth Melson.

"A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again," wrote Cummings in a letter today to Rep. Issa.

Rep. Cummings says Melson's attorney has indicated Melson would be "pleased to cooperate."
Below is a copy of the Cummings letter.
October 28, 2011
The Honorable Darrell E. Issa
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:

As I have stated repeatedly, I believe Operation Fast and Furious was a terrible mistake with tragic consequences. As I have also stated, I support a fair and responsible investigation that follows the facts where they lead, rather than drawing conclusions before evidence is gathered or ignoring information that does not fit into a preconceived narrative.

On several occasions over the past month, you have called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appear before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about when he first became aware of the controversial tactics used in Operation Fast and Furious. The Attorney General has now agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on December 8, 2011, when you will have another opportunity to question him directly.

With respect to our own Committee's investigation, I do not believe it will be viewed as legitimate or credible-and I do not believe the public record will be complete-without public testimony from Kenneth Melson, who served as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

A hearing with Mr. Melson would help the Committee and the American people better understand what mistakes were made in Operation Fast and Furious, how these tactics originated, who did and did not authorize them, and what steps are being taken to ensure that they are not used again.

Our staffs have already conducted transcribed interviews with Mr. Melson and the former Deputy Director of ATF, William Hoover. During those interviews, these officials expressed serious concerns about the controversial tactics employed by the Phoenix Field Division of ATF as part of this operation. They also raised concerns about the manner in which the Department of Justice responded to congressional inquiries. Both officials also stated that they had not been aware of the controversial tactics being used in Operation Fast and Furious, had not authorized those tactics, and had not informed anyone at the Department of Justice headquarters about them. They stated that Operation Fast and Furious originated within the Phoenix Field Division, and that ATF headquarters failed to properly supervise it.

Since the Attorney General has now agreed to appear before Congress in December, I believe Members also deserve an opportunity to question Mr. Melson directly, especially since he headed the agency responsible for
Operation Fast and Furious. My staff has been in touch with Mr. Melson's attorney, who reports that Mr. Melson would be pleased to cooperate with the Committee.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member


Fast N Furious Investigation

The House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee is planning on issuing new subpoenas this week to determine who in the Justice Department knew what about "Operation Fast and Furious" -- the plan to let thousands of guns sold in the U.S. get into Mexican drug cartel hands -- and when they knew it.

The subpoenas, expected to address an array of Obama administration officials, aims to get at the heart of the authorization for the program, and when the people in charge decided the program was a problem.

"When did they know it wasn't the right way to do it and why (did) they keep doing it?" asked committee chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.,

Issa, who is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee where Attorney General Eric Holder testified in May that he'd only learned of the program a few weeks earlier, told "Fox News Sunday" that "people in the top" of the Justice Department knew about the operation, were "well-briefed about it, and seemed to be the command and control and funding for this program."

Issa said those officials, which may or may not include Holder, would have known that the program was facing objections from law enforcement personnel in the field, but appeared to continue to let guns "walk" across the border.

"We didn't just have a few (guns) not be tracked. The whole program was about not tracking them until they were found in the scene of crimes. And they didn't just allow. They facilitated just one guy buy, one straw buy, over 700 weapons," Issa said.

On Friday, Holder issued a stern response to calls for a special counsel to probe the matter, saying he told the truth when he informed Congress he only heard about the program for the first time in April 2011. He added that earlier mentions of the program listed in at least five memos dated to 2010 did not indicate on first blush any problems with the program.

"I do not and cannot read them cover to cover," Issa wrote. "Here, no issues concerning 'Fast and Furious' were brought to my attention because the information presented in the report did not suggest a problem."

Freshman Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, said he can understand someone at Holder's level not reviewing every document that reaches his desk, but that when Holder knew he was going to testify about "Fast and Furious" to a House panel, he should have gotten brushed up on the program and its impact, including the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Guns linked to Fast and Furious were found at Terry's crime scene.

Labrador told Fox News that the response from Holder leaves him with no option but to conclude dishonesty or incompetence.

"By the time Officer Terry had been killed, there were other crimes linked to these guns. Why did he to not do the research and find out how much his office knew? He was either lying or willfully neglecting to do his due diligence before he came before Congress," Labrador said.

"If, in fact, a border patrol agent has been murdered, 2,000 weapons have gone, this program has completely gone off of the rails, why didn't he know?" Issa asked.

In his response to House Republicans, Holder said that his critics have political motivations and added that he takes issue with the allegation that federal agents were "accessories to murder."

"Such irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric must be repudiated in the strongest possible terms," Holder wrote. "Those who serve in the ranks of law enforcement are our nation's heroes and deserve our nation's thanks, not the disrespect that is being heaped on them by those who seek political advantage."

But Pima County, Ariz., Sheriff Paul Babeu said his state's elected sheriffs, of whom nine out of 15 are Democrats, support a special counsel.

"My deputies and officers across the southwest could face the barrel of a gun that our own government, Eric Holder and the president, put into the hands of these criminals," Babeu told Fox News. "Whoever approved this should be criminally held to account for this."

Issa said a special counsel should be appointed because "Eric Holder cannot investigate himself," but he said he's not going to let that get in the way of his investigation, which has been conducted in conjunction with Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa.

"Our investigation, along with Senator Grassley has to get to the bottom of this sooner, not later, because the American people and people in Mexico don't trust their government right now," he said.

Labrador said whoever came up with the Fast and Furious program "needs to be
fired."

"Anybody who failed to do their duty, because of this program, needs to be fired as well," he said.

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Fox News

Just an FYI...When U.S. Attorney Phoenix, Arizona Dennis Burke testified before the House Oversight Committee...He did not go empty handed..He also turned over a stack of documents 3 inches thick..This is thickening by the week..It will get more interesting real soon I assure you.

There has been talk that Larry Ford could be promoted in the Bureau...I would like to know what people think of this possible move!

W.Larry Ford
Current position
Assistant Director - Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information at Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Isn't that what all these Agents have been saying?

Absolutely not..There is evidence that Holder knew since day one of this operation as well as Lanny Breuer on down the line.Eric Holder is as bad as Obama himself..They both went to the same school of Bullshit!!