Posted on 06/20/2012 8:48:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Rep. Darrell Issa said Wednesday that he is pressing ahead with a committee vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress, despite an 11th-hour move by President Obama to exert executive privilege over the Fast and Furious documents at the heart of the dispute.
The announcement immediately touched off a caustic debate on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, as Democrats accused Issa of prosecuting a "political witch hunt" and Republicans stepped up their criticism of Holder's "stonewalling" over the Fast and Furious probe. Even for Washington, the tone at the hearing was decidedly bitter and accusatory.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was first informed of the president's decision to exert executive privilege in a letter Wednesday morning, shortly before the contempt vote was scheduled.
Issa said committee staff are evaluating the letter but described the move as too little, too late as he and other GOP lawmakers questioned the basis for the assertion.
"This untimely assertion by the Justice Department falls short of any reason to delay today's proceedings," Issa said.
Issa accused the Justice Department of trying to compel the committee to close its investigation in exchange for documents it hasn't yet seen. "I can't accept that deal. No other committee chairman would," he said.
But Issa's Democratic counterpart, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., fired back that Holder never made such a demand -- a Justice official also refuted Issa's claim -- and said the attorney general had come to the committee in "good faith" to try and work out an agreement.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
GO GOWDY .
He’s letting them have it.
I plan to contribute to Issa.
GOWDY: “Obama is a big fat liar”.
(again... paraphrased and condensed, but he called EVERYBODY OUT, especially Obama.)
YARMUTH (D umbass liar): “man, this lying stuff is hard. More obfuscation needed.”
ISSA to YARMUTH: “You’re a liar. Melson’s statement is available to you.”
Did Issa go into the meeting alone?!
Not smart if he did go alone and he should have known this would happen...unless he recorded the meeting in some manner.
The dems see their chance to permanently liberalize AGAIN going down in fast flames.
The dems are spitting mad that the GOPers have the gall to stand up to them.
This bitterness is a good thing. More and more voters are seeing the real perpetrators are the dems. At some point the dems will cry UNCLE, maybe after the election when the devastation sinks in.
SPEIER: (D umbass liar beeotch): Guns are bad, mkay. It's Bush's fault. It (guns to Mexico) went on then, it's going on at this very moment (Bet she didn't mean to say that). Now she's refusing to yield during a question/answer parry, and being a BITCH about it. Obfuscation and misdirect time. "that document, which is a reflection of the understanding of the statement of the underlying theme of the witch-hunting AK47's, due to the papers which were the document which were revealed to be unknown to the principal of the letter. AND NO, I'm not going to yield, I have 52 seconds left and I'm going to give it to another dumbass liar."
ISSA: YES.
“I have 52 seconds left and I’m going to give it to another dumbass liar”
FARENTHOLD (R): Back when the hearing with the Terri family occurred, both sides were upset. Now, you’re circling the wagons to protect a political appointee, and that’s JUST WRONG. If we are going to let EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE cover government interaction all the way down to the janitor at ATF, then we might as well pack up and go home. “
“Even for Washington, the tone at the hearing was decidedly bitter and accusatory.”
Pray that Issa has good bodyguard protection.
“Democrats accused Issa of prosecuting a “political witch hunt”
WHAT?...The Alberto Gonzales resignation was a political witch hunt. He fully cooperated and was not guilty of a dam* thing and he was forced to resign. ERIC HOLDER is an accomplice in murder. He should be arrested.
I’m truly sick of the hypocrisy. Lord, please give me strength!
Asking for documents is a witch hunt?
FBI Criminal Informant Complicit in Brian Terry’s Death (PJM Exclusive)The rip crew was in Peck Canyon that evening with the intention of stealing money and drugs from a specific shipment of which they had prior knowledge.
(snip)
The rip crew knew to be in Peck Canyon that December evening because a CI working for the FBI found out about a smuggling run — from the FBI.
(snip)
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) — through its own CIs and communications intercepts — was also aware of the planned assault.
Neither the DEA nor FBI warned Border Patrol about the expected criminal activity.
(snip)
The federal government will still not reveal if one of the two WASR-10 AK-pattern semi-automatic rifles located near the scene — provided to the Sinaloa cartel via Operation Fast and Furious — was the weapon that put a bullet through Brian Terry’s heart. The existence of a third recovered gun, an SKS carbine, has been disputed by the FBI despite the fact it had been talked about openly in the beginning of the investigation among federal agents.
Multiple sources tell PJM that this third weapon “disappeared” because it was the weapon carried by the FBI CI who ran the rip crew. When it was recovered near the scene of the murder and subsequently traced by the ATF, it traced back to the FBI CI via the gun shop in Texas where it was purchased.
You've done a great job keeping this issue alive, Mesta - you deserve to be hyped about it. Thanks for all your good work.
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