Obama’s Catch-22

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review ^ | June 22, 2012 | Masthead Editorial

[neverdem]

In the grand scheme of things, a congressional committee’s vote to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to turn over documents related to the failed and fatal Operation Fast and Furious gun-running scandal doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.

Even if the full House concurs next week, the matter will be referred to Mr. Holder’s Justice Department. “Prosecutory discretion” being what it is these days, nothing will happen.

But President Barack Obama’s invocation of executive privilege to shield those documents is another matter. In fact, it’s a mountain of a mess that could topple Mr. Obama (if the electorate doesn’t do it first).

By now declaring executive privilege, the administration is legally stipulating that there was direct White House involvement. And it has placed itself in Catch-22 jeopardy: It was more intimately involved in Fast and Furious than previously stated and it has been involved in nothing less than a cover-up to prevent that public disclosure.

Either the White House lied or the White House lied.

Whether it has done so to prevent being embarrassed politically or to shield criminal activity remains the question.

That question could be answered by the House filing a lawsuit against the administration to force it to comply with its subpoena for Fast and Furious documents. It’s the only way to ascertain what this White House knew and when it knew it.

[neverdem]

How is Fast and Furious playing on Univision and other Spanish media?

[mylife]

Either the White House lied or the White House lied.

BINGO

[mylife]

What I find very interesting here is that this is in a Pittsburgh paper.

Obama is in serious trouble.

[tsowellfan]

How is Fast and Furious playing on Univision and other Spanish media?

This is a very good question. Those may be great sources for news stories and articles related to this issue. We should seek any out.

I've been looking for recent numbers of deaths in Mexico as a result of Fast And Furious. The latest number I found was at least 200 Mexican deaths but that number was published in 2011.

I also wonder how many deaths have happened inside the United States (other than the two border agents that we know about). I would trust Mexico's numbers more than I would the numbers of this current administration we have in the WH.

It's unlikely our President would tell us how many Americans in our own cities have already fallen victim to Fast and Furious. So far, I think the official number is "zero".

[Starboard]

Obama is in serious trouble.

---

There are at least two whistle blowers in this matter and probably other sources of information that have found their way to Issa’s committee. In all liklihood, Issa has deep insights and/or copies of communications from those involved in running this program. Its a safe bet he knows many of the cards Obama and Holder are desperately trying to conceal.

[MestaMachine]

[mylife]

I think you are correct, but even if you aren’t Obama has stepped in it BIGTIME.

He has given himself the appearance of impropriety at the very least and that alone is a serious problem with an election looming.

[fish hawk]

Kenny Rogers did a song about this president. He didn’t” know when to hold em, know when to fold em ,know when to walk away , know when to run. Most of all, know when to keep his mouth shut. His executive privilege has opened a whole new can of worms. Before, it was Holder’s problem, now it’s a White House problem.

[null and void]

I thought it was A Boy Named Sue(atoro)

[JPG]

Another problem that comes to my mind is that Zippy and his cohorts do not know exactly what Issa has been told and what documents Issa may have that were slipped to him by whisteblowers. So, if Obama shreds any documents that Issa has in his possession, how would the administration account for their disappearance? It would sure look like destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice to hide a crime.

[neverdem]

What I find very interesting here is that this is in a Pittsburgh paper.

It's been all over the country since Fast and Furious first came to light. Check RealClearPoliticss.com.

It was on PBS' News Hour in the last week.

The NRA's Institute of Legislative Action, NRA-ILA, has been linking stories from just about all over the country since it hit the fan almost 18 months ago.

[mylife]

I did see that it was on PBS LOL!

[M Kehoe]

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review? And an editorial at that. Methinks something is going on in liberalville. Could it be the liberals/socialists/democRATS have noticed their hypocrisy, and feel ashamed?

Nah.

5.56mm

[neverdem]

Boehner takes hard line on Holder contempt vote

That's an AP story in the Wichita Eagle. It's already hanging in the banglist.

AP has been covering F & F, although with the angle that it was somehow "botched," and other ways that try to belittle and misreport the story, e.g. "The agents in Arizona lost track of several hundred weapons in Operation Fast and Furious."

[Boogieman]

I thought it was “The Coward of Cook County”

[Boogieman]

I thought it was “The Coward of Cook County”

[Ann Archy]

BINGO!!!!!

[Isabel C.]

It appears as though the Ghost of Scandal Past is starting to haunt Barack Milhous Obama.

[sergeantdave]

I’ve seen enough to indict Buckwheat and Holder for conspiracy, murder and treason.

[DAC21]

“How is Fast and Furious playing on Univision and other Spanish media?”

Since the ABC/NBC/CBS’s of the World seem to be having trouble reporting this in English, I don’t have much hope that Univision is going to help them translate it.