Issa, Grassley blast Holder in letter after secret meeting with ATF’s Ken Melson

The Daily Caller ^ | 7/6/11 | Matthew Boyle

[Nachum]

Top Republican lawmakers have authored an explosive new letter containing details of secret testimony by acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson, which reveal for the first time the extent to which his agency was involved in an international gun selling scandal.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, fired off the letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday detailing what Melson told Congressional investigators in a secret July 4 testimony.

One key takeaway from the meeting was that Melson acknowledged to investigators that agents had witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without following the guns afterwards. Straw purchasers are people who could technically legally buy guns in the U.S. but their intent was to turn around and sell them to drug cartels in Mexico.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The corruption is at historic levels.

Can't last much longer.

[Nachum]

The list, ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/

[ClearCase_guy]

What did Obama know, and when did he know it?

[Lexington Green]

Holder should be extradicted to Mexico to stand trial.

[Logical me]

The corruption is at historic levels. Can't last much longer.

Ordinarily it wouldn't last longer but we are controlled by a communists Administration. Even if he was asked to resign he would just get a seven figure job with one of the communists companies that was on the take. One thing for sure, no jail time as long as the communists control America.

[screaminsunshine]

Oh No! A letter. I bet they are terrified.

[blam]

"Oh No! A letter. I bet they are terrified."

A mean-spirited letter perhaps?

[piytar]

“Oh No! A letter. I bet they are terrified.”

But I’m sure it was a harshly worded letter! (Actually, from the article, it wasn’t even that.)

[screaminsunshine]

Let’s hope so. Maybe they even sent it certified mail. Wow! I wonder how they signed?? Sincerely or what?

[MikeSteelBe]

And, voting for candidate just because they have an (R) by their name next November will be about as useful as a screen door on a submarine to combat communism in America.

[Tex-Con-Man]

Issa seems to be laying a solid foundation, and meticulously working his way up the food chain.

We could use an ill-tempered special prosecutor about now.

[screaminsunshine]

Like giving a guy with ten holes in his boat 1 cork?

[penelopesire]

Sounds like Melson is about to go off the Obama reservation in a big way. This is good news. ??? Any thoughts?

[Nachum]

‘We could use an ill-tempered special prosecutor about now.’

I’m not so sure about that. Cold, calculating and ruthless works for me too :)

[762X51]

I don’t really see this going anywhere. The law breakers and the law enforcers play for the same team. The media will run cover for them until the next Casey Anthony type sensation comes along (and it will) to enthrall the masses and this will all blow over. We’ve all seen it time and time again...why should this be any different? The only way we may hear of this again is if it serves the purposes of the evil left; say for instance a white man, in a white van, were to shoot a bunch of minorities or illegal aliens. Then the cries for bans would ensue and the origin of the gun would be lost in the chaos. That’s what they were actually hoping for.

[Oceander]

I would not be quite so dismissive of this letter. If you read this letter carefully, it constitutes a very heavy shot across the bow for the Obama (mal)administration.

First and foremost, it strongly indicates that the Obama (mal)administration tried to pull a thug move by "silencing" acting director Melson rather than trying to "buy" him off. That is, they got really scared, panicked, and decided to try and muzzle him and, most likely, tar and feather him in public and then push him out.

That this was their tactic is implied by the repeated statements that no federal officer can be prevented from speaking to Congress, and the repeated "encouragement" to the DOJ to be forthright and to refrain from taking any retaliatory action against Melson.

Also, Melson appears to have been savvy enough - probably with some instigation by Issa - to end-run the effort to neuter and isolate him by secretly talking to Issa first without the DOJ's prior knowledge.

Second, the fact that the letter says repeatedly that Melson's testimony is corroborated by other info. Issa's committee has learned from other sources is an indirect way of saying that Melson has some really goodies that he's either given them, or that he's given them the clues needed to find on their own.

Third, the statements about how it "appears" that DOJ was stonewalling the committee, molding and editing the information provided to the committee, and intentionally preventing some personnel from coming forward is a serious warning that there will likely be referrals for criminal prosecution unless the DOJ starts cooperating fully.

This is a pretty serious letter, and is akin to a move in chess that shifts things from the opening game to the middle game. As Holmes would have said, the game's afoot.

[Nachum]

“Sounds like Melson is about to go off the Obama reservation in a big way. This is good news. ??? Any thoughts?”

I think this investigation has the potential to go very deep inside the administration. Melson was probably threatened by Holder. You know how these threats work- implicate, loss of income, dissapointment to your ... family. “What a beautiful wife you have Mr. Melson, how is she (and your kids) coping with all this....”

If he has the balls to go completely public and has the legal equivalent of Monica’s dress in his ‘closet’, things might get very interesting. A cornered animal can be even more dangerous. Obama has our forces in at least 5 conflicts right now: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia (at last count). He will shake things up, rattle the cage, and try to distract to take our attention off this.

As they say, watch what they do, not what they say. :)

[TexasCajun]

Corruption comes in all skin colors!

[whatexit]

Seems he got a glimpse of the corpses under the bus and is going into self-preservation mode.