The IG Report On Fast & Furious - It Ain't Over

The IG Report on Fast and Furious - the Holder ATF / DOJ program that purposefully allowed purchasers for Mexico's drug cartels to buy weapons inside the U.S. in bulk, then did not trace the weapons, did not stop the weapons before getting into cartel hands, did not coordinate or even inform the government of Mexico of the program, and justified this insanity on the grounds that DOJ would be able to find out where the guns ended up by tracing guns that were left at the scene of crimes - has been released. This from a report summarizing the IG findings and the immediate effect of its release:

A bombshell report released Wednesday on Operation Fast and Furious faulted a range of federal agencies for the failed anti-gunrunning program and accused officials in charge of a "disregard" for public safety. In the wake of the report, one Justice Department official resigned and another retired.

The sprawling report by the department's inspector general is the most comprehensive account yet on the deadly operation which allowed weapons to "walk" across the U.S.-Mexico border and resulted in hundreds of firearms turning up at crime scenes in both countries.

The report says Attorney General Eric Holder was not made aware of potential flaws in the program until February of last year. But the report cites 14 other department employees -- including Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer -- for potential wrongdoing, recommending the department consider disciplinary action against them. One congressional source told Fox News the report was "more brutal than was expected."

The report marked Jason Weinstein, the deputy assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division, as the highest-ranking DOJ employee in a position to stop the program. Weinstein, who disputes the findings, is resigning in the wake of the report.

Another official criticized for not asking enough questions about the Furious operation, former ATF acting director Kenneth Melson, retired after the report came down.

Congressman Issa appeared on Fox News last night to point out the fact that the report is not anywhere near a completed investigation:



And this is Congressman Issa questioning the IG today, pointing out DOJ's unlawful refusal to provide 90% of documents relevant to Fast and Furious to Congress, as well as the refusal of government employees outside of the DOJ with relevant knowledge to answer questions from the IG.



Now that the IG Report is finished, Issa needs to dust off all of the old document subpoenas which Holder refused to comply with on the ground of an on-going IG investigation and resubmit them. Immediately.

Tweet

Read More...

Summary only...

A Descent Into Corruption & Abuse Of Power Is Not The Change For Which We Had Hoped

Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it; and this I know, my lords, that where laws end, tyranny begins."

William Pitt The Elder, Speech to the House of Lords, 1770

The Democrats have achieved what amounts to complete power in America. And the far left wing of the Democratic Party, led by Obama, are skirting if not violating the law in order to get their way. Numerous acts of intimidation and abuse of power are showing up everywhere you look. That includes at least two egregious acts that have come to light just this day - the intimidation of a witnesses and Obama's unilateral decision to fire the Inspector General (IG) for Americorps who had recently investigated and received a judgment against a major Obama supporter.

*************************************************************

In the Chrysler and GM bankruptcies, we have seen extortion and strong arming from Obama and his "car czar" to trample on statutory and constitutional rights of secured creditors. With the nations major banks, we have seen the Obama administration refuse to allow repayment of loans and then use their control to influence bank decisions as regards Chrysler and GM. Even now, though allowing repayment, the government is maintaining warrants that they could exercise at any time to take over the effective ownership of every major banking institution in America. We have seen the White House take direct control of the 2010 census and insert the deeply corrupt ACORN into the counting process. We have seen the Obama DOJ make the inexplicable decision not to prosecute voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers. And we have the Obama DOJ ignoring a recent Supreme Court case and making decisions that can only further promote voter fraud.

In the House, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats repeatedly refused to allow ethics investigations of numerous Democratic lawmakers who are reeking with the stench of corruption. Indeed, even the NYT editorial board is starting to choke on that one. Tax fraud Charlie Rangel and "friend of Angelo" Chris Dodd still not only retain their seats in Congress, but their chairmanships. And we have the left protecting ACORN at every turn, cancelling hearings to investigate their corruption and insuring that all attempts to block robust funding of ACORN on the taxpayer's dime are rebuffed.

And today, there is more. First up are charges of witness intimidation. Democratic Rep. Ed Markey, co-author of the Waxman Cap and Trade bill, sent a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking FERC to investigate MidAmerican Energy Holdings on the same day that company’s CEO was set to testify before the energy panel on the dangers of a carbon cap and trade system. In another instance, health care lobbyists were warned by two senior democratic staffers not to meet with the Republican leadership to discuss the proposed health care plan. As they reportedly said, doing so would be a "hostile act."

But by far the worst act is Obama's unilateral decision to fire Gerald Walpin, the Inspector General of AmeriCorps. An inspector generals job is to investigate for waste, fraud or abuse of federal funds. Walpin had recently investigated Kevin Johnson, an Obama supporter, and the nonprofit St. HOPE Academy that Johnson headed. Walpin found six instances of funds being diverted or wrongly used, none of which were disputed by Johnson. Walpin handed his findings over to the DOJ. The DOJ then found sufficient cause to order St. Hope to repay about half of nearly $847,000 in federal grants they had received from AmeriCorps. On the heels of that, not only did Obama act to fire Walpin, but Obama failed to comply with an act he voted for last year meant to protect Inspector Generals from political pressure. That law requires Obama to allow allow thirty days to pass after informing Congress of the intent to fire an IG, and to provide specific reasons for the firing. Obama did neither. Byron York has the definitive postings on this one. He also adds that this situation with Walpin may be the tip of the iceberg, stating that a "number of inspectors general around the government have been expressing concerns to Congress recently about threats to their independence."

On a final note, not included in the bill of particulars above are the highly questionable procedural games that the Democratic majority is playing in Congress. Major bills are not being written in committee. Instead, they are being written in secret by the far left wing of the Democratic party then pushed out with calls for an immediate vote. Nancy Pelosi virtually wrote the porkulus bill behind closed doors, and then referred to Republican complaints about the lack of bipartisanship in drafting the bill as mere "process arguments." And it is not just Republicans. The NYT reported last month "[f]orty-five House Democrats in the party’s moderate-to-conservative wing have protested the secretive process by which party leaders in their chamber are developing legislation to remake the health care system." Then there is Obama's proposal for ramming socialized medicine legislation through by grossly misusing the "budget reconciliation" procedure in the Senate.

Obama and the far left are drunk with power and vastly overreaching. Indeed, any number of Obama's acts to date would have, had they been done by Bush, resulted in substantive calls for impeachment. There is a reason Dafydd ab Hugh of Big Lizards tagged Obama as "Lucky Lefty." But with a press corps that more resembles a smitten school girl - indeed, so much so that one of the editors of the left wing SF Examiner is complaining - utterly none of these tyrannical acts designed to skirt law and democracy are being followed up by the MSM. This is not the hope and change Obama promised - but it is the reality his background clearly foreshadowed.

Read More...

Summary only...