Documents May Contradict Eric Holder Fast & Furious Testimony
Politico ^ | October 4, 2011 | Tim Mak
Attorney General Eric Holder knew about the Fast and Furious gun program as far back as July 2010, which may contradict his statements to Congress, new documents suggest.
Under the program, weapons were allowed to be illegally purchased in the Phoenix area so that they could be tracked to gun traffickers and drug cartel leaders. But the ATF lost track of these firearms, and many were allowed to cross into Mexico.
The documents, leaked to CNN, CBS and other news organizations on Capitol Hill, indicate that Holder knew about the program well before he said he first became aware of it in testimony to Congress.
The documents include a memo to Holder from Michael F. Walter, Director of the National Drug Intelligence Center, dated July 5, 2010, that mentions Fast and Furious.
But in May 2011, Holder told a House committee hearing that he had only recently learned about Fast and Furious.
“When did you first know about the program, officially known as Fast and Furious?” asked Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
“I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks,” Holder replied.
The Justice Department strongly disputed any suggestion that Holder misled Congress.
A senior DoJ official told POLITICO that while Holder knew that an operation was going on in 2010, he was not aware until early 2011 of the controversial tactics used in Fast and Furious.
The Justice Department claims Issa’s question referred to the controversial tactics of Fast and Furious and not the overall operation itself.
(Excerpt) Read more at dyn.politico.com ...
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