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Lieberman launches Senate probe of Fast and Furious
Hot Air ^ | 12:45 pm on December 22, 2011 | Ed Morrissey

Posted on 12/22/2011 1:05:25 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

You know what this means, don’t you?  Joe Lieberman must either be racist or a right-wing ideologue:

Connecticut independent Sen. Joe Lieberman has directed the staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which he chairs, to investigate miscommunication between law enforcement agencies related to the Justice Department’s Operation Fast and Furious.

A spokesperson told The Daily Caller Wednesday that Lieberman “believe[s] that the lack of interagency coordination along the border merits further examination, and as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he has directed his staff to follow up with the relevant federal agencies on that topic.”

Fast and Furious was a program of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, overseen by Holder’s DOJ. It sent thousands of weapons to Mexican drug cartels via straw purchasers — people who legally purchase guns in the United States with the known intention of illegally trafficking them somewhere else.

In one sense, the context of Lieberman’s probe is relatively mild.  It takes the best possible conclusion about the implications of Operation Fast and Furious, which is that the Department of Justice under Eric Holder has been run incompetently.  That, however, still provides a lot more bipartisan credibility to the investigation of how and why the ATF allowed thousands of weapons to cross the border into the hands of drug cartels with no way to track them, and without informing the government of Mexico about the operation.  Holder’s claims that the investigation is motivated by bigotry and ideological grudge matches will be a lot more difficult to sell when Lieberman heads up a Senate investigation.

This puts the White House in a tough position.  The best outcome they can expect is to have Holder and his team exposed as incompetents, right in the middle of a re-election campaign.  The worst outcome they would dread is a Senate investigation that confirms all of the allegations being made in the House as to the motivation of Holder and his team in conducting OF&F.  Furthermore, Holder won’t have the political cover to withhold communications as he has from the House when a Democrat demands those e-mails and internal memos, and since they haven’t been produced, one is inclined to think that some of those might prove embarrassing to the White House.

This looks like a signal from Lieberman that it might be time to start looking for the next Attorney General and to have Holder start planning on spending more time with his family, before this probe starts hitting the West Wing.  It might be a little late to prevent that, as the Media Research Center reminds us today:

On March 24, 2009, David Ogden, who was Deputy Attorney General at the time,announced new efforts with Project Gunrunner “as directed by the president.” Ogden says he and Attorney General Eric Holder are taking “several new and aggressive steps as part of the administration’s comprehensive plan.”

“The president has directed us to take action to fight these cartels and Attorney General Eric Holder and I are taking several new and aggressive steps as part of the administration’s comprehensive plan. The first steps include the following: DOJ’s Drug Enforcement Administration which already has the largest US drug enforcement presence in Mexico, with 11 offices in that country, is placing 16 new DEA positions in southwest border field operations- specifically to target Mexican trafficking and associated violence. The DEA is also deploying 4 new mobile enforcement teams to specifically target Mexican methamphetamine trafficking, both along the border and in US cities impacted by the cartels”, says Ogden.

He continues, “DOJ’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is increasing it’s efforts by adding 37 new employees in 3 new offices using $10 million dollars in Recovery Act funds and redeploying 100 personnel to the southwest border in the next 45 days to fortify it’s Project Gunrunner- which is aimed at disrupted arms trafficking between the United States and Mexico. ATF is doubling it’s presence in Mexico itself, from 5 to 9 personnel working with the Mexicans specifically to facilitate gun tracing activity which targets the illegal weapons and their sources in the United States.”

In other words, the notion that Holder and the White House were unaware of the ATF’s operation will be rather difficult to swallow.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: atf; banglist; dea; dhs; doj; fastandfurious; fbi; gunrunner; gunwalker; holder; obama
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1 posted on 12/22/2011 1:05:29 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Holder lied. People died......................and are still dying................


2 posted on 12/22/2011 1:07:01 PM PST by Red Badger (Every child should have a meadow to play in..............)
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To: NormsRevenge; Marine_Uncle; SierraWasp; GeronL; SunkenCiv; Grampa Dave

The Homeland Security committee....


3 posted on 12/22/2011 1:07:51 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Joe Brower; Travis McGee; LucyT; vette6387; MetaThought; 60Gunner; XHogPilot; FreedomPoster; ...

In case you missed it boing.


4 posted on 12/22/2011 1:14:58 PM PST by MestaMachine (obama kills)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
In one sense, the context of Lieberman’s probe is relatively mild

It is just a cover and bull crap that Joe will complete.

5 posted on 12/22/2011 1:15:25 PM PST by bmwcyle (I am ready to serve Jesus on Earth because the GOP failed again)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Hallelujah!


6 posted on 12/22/2011 1:15:25 PM PST by Servant of the Cross (the Truth will set you free)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Call your Congresscritters and urge them to vote in favor of H.R.490!

Impeach and prosecute Holder, the racist Socialist bastard!


7 posted on 12/22/2011 1:15:56 PM PST by Old Sarge (RIP FReeper Skyraider (1930-2011) - You Are Missed)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

And Lieberman...


8 posted on 12/22/2011 1:19:09 PM PST by muddler (Chaos is coming.)
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To: All
And ..... Damn....A video of this at the link! :

Flashback: David Ogden Announces New Efforts With Project Gunrunner "As Directed By the President"

*******************************EXCERPT*******************************************

Joe Schoffstall

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 - 9:25pm

On March 24, 2009, David Ogden, who was Deputy Attorney General at the time, announced new efforts with Project Gunrunner "as directed by the president." Ogden says he and Attorney General Eric Holder are taking "several new and aggressive steps as part of the administration's comprehensive plan."

"The president has directed us to take action to fight these cartels and Attorney General Eric Holder and I are taking several new and aggressive steps as part of the administration's comprehensive plan. The first steps include the following: DOJ's Drug Enforcement Administration which already has the largest US drug enforcement presence in Mexico, with 11 offices in that country, is placing 16 new DEA positions in southwest border field operations- specifically to target Mexican trafficking and associated violence. The DEA is also deploying 4 new mobile enforcement teams to specifically target Mexican methamphetamine trafficking, both along the border and in US cities impacted by the cartels", says Ogden.

He continues, "DOJ's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is increasing it's efforts by adding 37 new employees in 3 new offices using $10 million dollars in Recovery Act funds and redeploying 100 personnel to the southwest border in the next 45 days to fortify it's Project Gunrunner- which is aimed at disrupted arms trafficking between the United States and Mexico. ATF is doubling it's presence in Mexico itself, from 5 to 9 personnel working with the Mexicans specifically to facilitate gun tracing activity which targets the illegal weapons and their sources in the United States."

9 posted on 12/22/2011 1:19:24 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Joe’s retiring so he’d have no ‘rat backlash to fear by pursuing the truth (unless he’s seeking an Obambi 2nd-term cabinet post).


10 posted on 12/22/2011 1:22:52 PM PST by rfp1234 (RFP's Law: Whoever blames Bush first shall lose the argument.)
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To: Red Badger
And for those reluctant to follow links ....a FR thread:

Flashback: David Ogden Announces New Efforts With Project Gunrunner "As Directed By the President"

11 posted on 12/22/2011 1:23:51 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
http://bwcentral.org/2011/12/attorney-general-holder-tied-to-okc-bombers/

"the Oklahoma City bombing had aspects of being an FBI sting operation that went out of control. Holder had authorized the FBI to provide explosives to Nichols and McVeigh, then lost track of both the explosives and their targets. McVeigh went on to detonate some of the explosives outside the federal building, an act that was designed to help anti-terrorism legislation pass Congress. But an additional case of explosives was unaccounted for.

After the bombing, when the FBI learned the location of the explosives, Holder reportedly sent emails to FBI agents ordering them to recover the explosives before they could be found by some other branch of the government. FBI agents failed to spot the additional, unexploded explosives during an initial search of Nichols’s home and offered to spare him the death penalty if he would help them recover them.

The case of explosives was, however, recovered by another law enforcement agency and was later determined to have the incriminating fingerprints of two FBI agents, as well as fingerprints of McVeigh and Nichols.

Shortly after the bombing, Kenneth Trentadue, a government informant, was murdered in his prison cell. His family has been pursuing legal action against the federal government ever since."

------------------------

OMG..for all my old reading regarding OKC I didn't know that. But it makes sense.

12 posted on 12/22/2011 1:26:01 PM PST by gaijin
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To: gaijin

Now I never heard that before.


13 posted on 12/22/2011 1:30:13 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: neverdem

fyi


14 posted on 12/22/2011 1:34:30 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; ...

Thanks Ernest.


15 posted on 12/22/2011 1:43:59 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! May 2013 be even Happier!)
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To: gaijin

REad a very lengthy article about just this on FR a couple days ago


16 posted on 12/22/2011 1:44:19 PM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO))
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To: Joe Boucher

did u post to that lengthy article? Do you remember the title of the thread?

I’m very interested to read more about this chilling stuff.

Dismayed to say so, but it all makes sense.


17 posted on 12/22/2011 1:47:43 PM PST by gaijin
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To: gaijin

Check some keywords...


18 posted on 12/22/2011 2:02:12 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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To: gaijin

Looked back and found it for you gaijin,
Go to
A.G. Eric Holder was Responsible+++
Dec 19 2011 at 8:26:29
Very very interesting read and made me mad as hell.
EYE opening.
Do not trust the FBI


19 posted on 12/22/2011 2:08:11 PM PST by Joe Boucher ((FUBO))
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To: gaijin
FR thread:

AG Eric Holder was responsible for 168 deaths in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing…and more

20 posted on 12/22/2011 2:42:39 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach ( Support Geert Wilders)
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