Posted on 06/15/2012 4:49:11 AM PDT by marktwain
The ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee challenged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday to produce any evidence proving his claim that a prior attorney general knew about a gunrunning investigation during the Bush administration or apologize if no such evidence is available.
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa issued the challenge in response to Mr. Holders Senate appearance this week during a hearing on the Fast and Furious gunrunning investigation when he testified that Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey was aware of and remained silent about a similar operation known as Wide Receiver, during which he said 300 weapons were walked into Mexico.
I was extremely disappointed to hear Attorney General Holder try to deflect criticism of himself and his department by pointing the finger at his predecessor, Mr. Grassley said. If any such evidence exists to back Holders claim, it has yet to come to light after months of scrutiny, and the charge should not stand without any evidence to back it up.
On Tuesday, in response to questions by Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Mr. Holder said, An attorney general who I suppose you would hold in higher regard was briefed on these kinds of tactics in an operation called Wide Receiver and did nothing to stop them - nothing. Three hundred guns, at least, walked in that instance.
Mr. Holder was referring to Mr. Mukasey, who served as the nations top prosecutor in the Bush administration from November 2007 to January 2009.
Thats a serious charge, Mr. Grassley said. The problem is we have absolutely zero evidence that its true. Nothing in the documents produced by the Justice Department and no information provided by any whistleblowers that I know of suggests that Attorney General Mukasey was ever briefed
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Gunwalker / Murdergate ping.
“Wide Receiver, during which he said 300 weapons were walked into Mexico.”
It’s my understanding that WR was different, since the US worked with the Mexican govt to ‘control’ the arms. Holder is twisting the truth a bit.
Holder’s just following Bammy’s lead. You can bet if the Bush admin was walking guns to Mexico and depositing them in the hands of cartels, the Obama administration would have ‘leaked’ that evidence long ago.
Grassley’s a racist in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .
Holder's testimony has more twists in it than a Hank Ballard concert (the original Chubby Checker).
Strange defense also; Going from it is all George Bush's fault to: Hey it was good enough for George, why pick on me?
Michael Mukasey would have to be the one to file a slander suit.
He isn’t the type, imo.
He was a very respected judge prior to becoming Bush’s last AG, and appears to be a dignified and scholarly individual.
But as to the general point you make, this imo is slanderous if indeed Holder knows better or is in a position to know better.
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If true, he knows nothing about gun walking by his subordinates but knows plenty about gun walking by his predecessor. Interesting lack of focus on his assigned duties.
Eric Holder was just repeating what he read at Talking Points Memo. So yeah, he’s liable for slander. Certainly.
I swear, this entire administration is the biggest bunch of babies I’ve ever seen. Nothing is EVER their fault. Makes me want to puke.
Agreed. Mukasey's to much of a class act for that. But he has written some very strong and good op ed pieces in the WSJ. If this charge is as hollow as Holder and Obama, I would expect a direct and strong response from Mr. Mukasey in short order.
WR was very different and Holder is butchering the truth.
WR was coordinated with the Mexican gov't. Most of the firearms were equipped with GPS tracking.
There was an instance where a straw buyer with 300 firearms supposedly crossed the border and the Mexicans (who were told he was coming) failed to stop him and the firearms got away.
At that point, Murkowski shut the program down.
This is absolutely contrary to Fast & Furious where there was no effort to track the firearms, no effort to coordinate with Mexican officals and no desire to stop the program until the heat from Brian Terry's death ramped up.
But Holder's accusation is meant for his most stubborn supporters who will take that claim and regurgitate it over and over again as if it was truth.
“Could Eric Holder be sued for slander for this contention?”
Anyone can sue anyone for anything, so technically the answer is yes. However, the former AG is a public figure. That means a much higher standard is needed to prove slander — actual malice and actual harm. Both are high bars, especially the “actual harm” standard. You would have to prove that people really believed Holder’s claim, among other things. I think that would be a deal breaker
“Agreed. Mukasey’s to much of a class act for that. “
I really wish some of the Bush staff that this admin has demonized would stop being class acts, take some pride in themselves and stop allowing their names to be turned into the 2012 version of Atillia the Hun.
If they fought back once in a while, the Dems wouldn’t use slandering republicans as the go-to option on each issue.
ould Holder be hung for sedition?
Bastard has tried to circumvent the U.S> Constitution through F & F.
Everyone knows that is a total Lie. That was never the intent. Only the MSM has the gall to make that statement. NO ONE who have followed this honestly believes that.
The intent was to cook the numbers to justify increased gun control in the US.....
Now that doesnt' mean you can't file suit but the judges will laugh.
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