Executive privilege explained: What Obama's Fast and Furious document claim mean

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[Soul Crusher]

LOL

Blame Bush and blame Issa without ever dealing w FnF itself. 


FAIL 

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whatch it again, mr. fantasy lawyer. 

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whatch it again, mr. fantasy lawyer. 

I did.   WR has nothing to do w FnF. 

And what does what issa did 30 years ago have to do w today and FnF?

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http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/wpnan/

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333386 up to his old tricks 

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WATCH AND LEARN ASSHOLES  

THIS WAS THE ATF LIASON IN MEXICO  

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What’s Bam hiding?

 Last Updated: 11:01 PM, June 21, 2012

www.nypost.com


AP

 


Executive privilege, conceptually speaking, is a lot like the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution: Assert it, and folks assume that there’s a coverup under way.

Not unreasonably.

So many malefactors have gone the executive-privilege route — Richard Nixon, most famously — that the public is entitled to its suspicions.

Now comes President Obama, taking Attorney General Eric Holder’s back in the seemingly endless “Fast and Furious” gun scandal.

Does he get the benefit of the doubt?

House Republicans have been investigating the matter for a couple of years now — to no avail, largely because Holder threw up a stone wall virtually on Day One, and he hasn’t given an inch since.

Let’s be clear: While there are political elements to the story (aren’t there always?), the bottom line is that a US Border Patrol officer and scores of Mexican citizens have been murdered by weapons the Justice Department lost track of.

In a nutshell, the feds released some 2,500 firearms to Mexican drug-cartel members in an effort to track gun-trafficking patterns. The weapons vanished, the body count started to grow — and how all that happened became the question around which the scandal revolves.

 Obama asserted executive privilege Wednesday regarding House subpoenas for documents that might provide some clarity — subpoenas at which Holder & Co. have been thumbing their institutional noses for months.

Indeed, the privilege assertion comes 15 months after Obama claimed that neither he nor Holder knew about, to say nothing of authorized, the gun operation.

Holder himself testified in May 2011 that he’d only heard about the operation “in the last few weeks” — though memos later came to light that undermine that claim.

In recent weeks, Justice officials have “retracted” earlier sworn statements — including one this week that the operation began under the Bush administration.

All in all, it stinks on ice.

So much so, in fact, that the House Government Oversight Committee voted a contempt citation against Holder on Wednesday — and the full House could do the same as early as next week.

Now comes Obama, apparently attempting to derail the entire process with his assertion of privilege.

A principled claim? Or a coverup?

Given that the administration appears otherwise to believe in nothing whatsoever, we’ll go with coverup.

[240 is Back]

I think the point is that under WR - we actually TRACKED the guns in Mexico, and the Mexican government was cooperating. So there WAS an effort to follow the guns.

WIKI said the 400 or so guns were lost the minute they crossed the border.   

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WIKI said the 400 or so guns were lost the minute they crossed the border.   

Ok, but they were being worked on both sides of the border.
And ICE agent didnt die.

A failed op, is a failed op. If a bunch of SEAL's died on the OBL raid, you think they would have asked Obama to step down?
F&F was fundamentally flawed from the word go - it had NO hope of working. They didnt give a fuck if the guns got lost, as they werent planning on tracking them over the boarder.

Big difference between an Op who's plan was doomed to fail because it was planned that way, and one that failed due to unforseen consequences.

[dario73]

Why are Democrats trying to impede the process by bringing up an operation that has nothing to do with Fast and Furious?

I thought Democrats stated that the Terry family was entitled to answers. I thought Democrats called themselves the party of truth. The party that would drain the swamp of corruption. The supposed "do something" party.  What happened to that party?

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W.H.: Ex-staffer can't be questioned on Fast and Furious


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-57458825-10391695/w.h.-ex-staffer-cant-be-questioned-on-fast-and-furious/?tag=socsh


By Sharyl Attkisson Topics News ,Law and Order .
 
(Credit: CBS News) (CBS News) The White House said a former National Security staffer who communicated with ATF's Special Agent in charge of "Fast and Furious" cannot be interviewed by Congressional investigators.


The ATF Special Agent, Bill Newell, testified to Congress in July 2011 that he's a longtime friend with then-White House National Security Staffer Kevin O'Reilly. The two emailed and talked on the phone during the controversial Fast and Furious gunwalking operation, according to documents and Newell's testimony to Congress.


In one email exchange about Fast and Furious on Feb. 11, 2011 O'Reilly asked Newell, "Would ATF be willing to put you or others in front of US media that gets pickup in Mexico (CNN en Espanol, perhaps) to tell this story?"


At the time, the Justice Department and ATF were denying any gunwalking had occurred, and were looking for ways to promote stories about gun traffickers buying weapons in the U.S. and taking them to Mexico.


"Kevin as we discussed last night," answered Newell, "these are some examples of what we could get translated and use in the Mexican media . . . The 'Fast and Furious' indictment is listed under 'U.S. v Avila.'"


The two also emailed about the case in July 2010, exchanging anecdotes and photographs of gun seizures in the case.


Kevin O'Reilly emails (pdf)


"This is great; very informative," O'Reilly told Newell. "OK to share with Sr Director Dan Restropo and with CT/CN Director Greg Gatjanis? Would not leave NSS I assure you."


"Sure," answered Newell, "just don't want ATF HQ to find out, especially since this is what they should be doing (briefing you)!"


Holder's contempt vote over Fast and Furious deepens partisan divide
GOP cries foul over Obama's use of executive privilege in "Fast and Furious" case
Fast and Furious wiretap information obtained by Congress


For nearly a year, Republican Congressional investigators have been seeking an interview with O'Reilly to ask what he knew "about the objectives and tactics used in Fast and Furious and with whom did he share his knowledge." They also wanted to ask about the content of telephone conversations between the two.


None of the emails made public so far indicate O'Reilly had any knowledge of the controversial tactics of letting guns walk.


Last fall, the White House said O'Reilly was unavailable because he was on assignment for the State Department in Iraq. Investigators said they were willing to do the interview by phone, and O'Reilly's lawyer said he had no objection.


However, White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said O'Reilly will not be made available.


"(N)one of these limited communications between Mr. O'Reilly and Mr. Newell revealed the existence of any of the inappropriate investigative tactics at issue in your inquiry, let alone any decision to allow guns to 'walk,'" wrote Ruemmler in a letter to the offices of Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa). Citing Executive Branch confidentiality interests, Ruemmler said, "There is an insufficient basis to support the request to interview Mr. O'Reilly."


Republicans in Congress disagree.


In a letter to the White House, Issa and Grassley wrote, "O'Reilly's testimony is necessary to allow us to begin to determine the extent of involvement - if any - of White House staff in Operation Fast and Furious. As such, we strongly urge you to reverse your position and facilitate an interview with O'Reilly without further delay."

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O’s ‘Real’ secret
By RICH LOWRY

Last Updated: 11:47 PM, June 21, 2012

Posted: 10:53 PM, June 21, 2012

Pity lead House GOP investigator Rep. Darrell Issa of California. It’s his misfortune that he isn’t looking into matters about which the Obama administration can talk freely — namely, all its covert national-security programs.

If Justice Department documents that Issa's committee seeks from Attorney General Eric Holder had been the subject of a top-secret meeting in the White House Situation Room, their contents already would’ve been splashed across the media. Issa could read the A-1 New York Times story and be done with it.

But the Holder documents are an entirely different matter. They relate to the bizarrely misconceived Operation Fast and Furious, which allowed guns purchased from US shops to fall into the hands of Mexican drug gangs on the theory that . . . well, it's not clear exactly what the theory was. Somehow, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives thought that letting 2,000 guns “walk” into the arsenals of bad actors with no means of tracking them would be a devastating blow against gun-trafficking.

The cone of silence has slammed shut on the latest batch of Fast and Furious documents subpoenaed by Issa. When it’s a secret, high-tech program to disrupt Iran's nuclear program, administration officials are chatty and expansive; when it’s documents that could further embarrass Holder, their rule is “loose lips sink ships.” President Obama is making a dubious claim of executive privilege to protect documents that, if they are truly of no consequence, there's no reason to protect.

From the start, Holder's Justice Department hasn't been able to keep its story straight on Fast and Furious, although it’s always insisted that top officials had no prior knowledge of it. In a February 2011 letter, it told Congress that the ATF made “every effort” to interdict the guns before they got into Mexico (wrong) and that it hadn't “‘sanctioned’ or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons” tosuspicious people (false). The proximate cause of the current showdown is Issa's quest to see documents that might shed more light on who worked up and approved the misleading letter.

Holder has, at times, given the impression of mistaking congressional hearings for an Abbott and Costello skit. Asked about an e-mail between top Justice officials with a reference in it to “Fast and Furious” back in 2010, Holder insisted — with comic brazenness — that the e-mail didn't refer to “Fast and Furious.” As a mercy to Holder, Obama should make up some claim of executive privilege that keeps him from subjecting himself to the rigors of congressional testimony ever again.

When White House spokesman Jay Carney said the executive-privilege claim was all about principle, reporters laughed. Executive privilege is important to protecting communications involving the president and his staff. It was never meant as an all-purpose shield to keep Cabinet agencies from having to cooperate with congressional investigations. Obama's claim in this instance is so risible it naturally raises the suspicion that the documents must contain more discomfiting information for Holder.

If the documents back Justice’s contention that it has dealt openly and honestly with Congress, why wouldn’t they be made public like all other information — even classified information — helpful to the administration’s public image? If Holder can’t quite bring himself to turn them over to Congress, surely he can leak them.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com



Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/real_secret_OPb4ti4ZXmxzgoOHEwS79J#ixzz1yYhzREX1

[240 is Back]

Ok, but they were being worked on both sides of the border.
And ICE agent didnt die.

A failed op, is a failed op. If a bunch of SEAL's died on the OBL raid, you think they would have asked Obama to step down?
F&F was fundamentally flawed from the word go - it had NO hope of working. They didnt give a fuck if the guns got lost, as they werent planning on tracking them over the boarder.

Big difference between an Op who's plan was doomed to fail because it was planned that way, and one that failed due to unforseen consequences.

IF a bunch of seals died on that raid - I HIGHLY doubt they'd have that same team leader leading an identical mission to kill OBL again, 3 years later in the same location.

You just try diff people.  They kept the same guy on.  Weird...

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This is who Obama is blocking from further testimony.  

He admits FBI, DEA, IRS, ICE, ATF all knew about the tactics used in FnF.  


Fuck obama this accessory to murder.

Denis McDonough, Obama's most influential national policy advisor, personal friend, & basketball buddy who has gone to Hawaii with Obama on vacation, is the one keeping O'Reilly under wraps.

Yet other sources have recently reported to this writer that O'Reilly, who was suddenly transferred to a State Department job in Iraq when the White House discovered that the Issa committee wanted to talk to him about his contacts with Newell, owes his continued Fast and Furious anonymity to McDonough. Said the source, "NSC Deputy Director, Denis McDonough is the guy protecting Kevin O'Reilly," adding "DEA knows what O'Reilly did." According to the latest reports from my sources, O'Reilly remains essentially out of reach of Issa's investigators in Iraq.

"Obama’s most influential foreign policy adviser" and the Fast & Furious Cover-up.

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[Straw Man]

This is who Obama is blocking from further testimony.  

He admits FBI, DEA, IRS, ICE, ATF all knew about the tactics used in FnF.  


Fuck obama this accessory to murder.

Denis McDonough, Obama's most influential national policy advisor, personal friend, & basketball buddy who has gone to Hawaii with Obama on vacation, is the one keeping O'Reilly under wraps.

Yet other sources have recently reported to this writer that O'Reilly, who was suddenly transferred to a State Department job in Iraq when the White House discovered that the Issa committee wanted to talk to him about his contacts with Newell, owes his continued Fast and Furious anonymity to McDonough. Said the source, "NSC Deputy Director, Denis McDonough is the guy protecting Kevin O'Reilly," adding "DEA knows what O'Reilly did." According to the latest reports from my sources, O'Reilly remains essentially out of reach of Issa's investigators in Iraq.

"Obama’s most influential foreign policy adviser" and the Fast & Furious Cover-up.

why are you copying someone elses words and passing them off as your own?

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Words from the top are mine, words below are from FR. 

Agent Newell said he emailed oreeily about f and f who worked in the WH as national security advisor to Obama.

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... oreeily ...

Ugh. O'Reilly. "Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that." *shudder*

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Ugh. O'Reilly. "Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You can't explain that." *shudder*

Did he actually say these things? I always knew the meme, but I assumed it was just goofing.
If so, epic lulz.

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Did he actually say these things? I always knew the meme, but I assumed it was just goofing.
If so, epic lulz.

Yes... Yes he did. It's at 1:50. Silverman's reaction is hilarious. You can almost see the moment when his brain explodes at what he's hearing and his pupils get about as wide as quarters:

You can read about it here: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/bill-oreilly-you-cant-explain-that

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Yes... Yes he did. It's at 1:50. Silverman's reaction is hilarious. You can almost see the moment when his brain explodes at what he's hearing and his pupils get about as wide as quarters:

(or click here to open the video directly at the 1:50 mark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb3AFMe2OQY&t=1m50s)

Zomg win.
This is the best thing evar.
What an idiot.

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Zomg win.
This is the best thing evar.
What an idiot.

 

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Sen.Coburn: There's 'Fire, Not Just Smoke' at Heart of Fast and Furious Cover-Up
Newsmax ^ | 21 Jun 2012 | Paul Scicchitano and John Bachman
Posted on June 23, 2012 12:43:26 PM EDT by kingattax

One of the U.S. Senate’s leading experts on judicial matters and homeland security tells Newsmax that President Barack Obama’s invocation of executive privilege is a clear signal that there’s something the administration is trying to hide at the heart of the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal.

“There’s fire there. It’s not just smoke, and there’s no other reason to have that,” said Sen. Tom Coburn in an exclusive Newsmax interview. “There is legitimate cause to be concerned about the untruthfulness of the attorney general — and his lack of forthrightness with oversight committees that are studying this.”

Despite the president’s assertion of executive privilege, Coburn believes that the information will ultimately find its way into the public eye.

“It’s going to eventually be exposed,” predicts Coburn, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “The question is ‘can they put it off until after the election? I suspect that’s why the president issued the executive order.”

(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...


http://www.newsmax.com/Newswidget/coburn-fast-furious-healthcare/2012/06/21/id/443101?promo_code=F269-1&utm_source=americanThinker&utm_medium=nmwidget&utm_campaign=widgetphase1




Drip drip drip.