Breaking updates on House investigation of DOJ-ATF gun smuggling (NEW UPDATE)
July 26, 2011
Note: Scroll to the end of the article for the very latest breaking updates.
In the latest breaking updates on the U.S. House of Representatives investigation into the DOJ-ATF Gun Smuggling Scandal, also known as 'Project Gunwalker' or 'Operation Fast and Furious,' committee chair Darrell Issa, R-California, has charged the Obama Administration with intimidating witnesses. Of the six scheduled witnesses who testified before the Issa committee today, at least two of them received letters from the ATF warning them to limit their testimony.
Issa further asserted that the scandal goes all the way to the top of the Department of Justice at the very least, and that Attorney-General Eric Holder knew about the illegal scheme or else he is so incompetent as to be ignorant about what goes on in his own department.
In another development, one of the two who originally broke the story of the scandal, Mike Vanderboegh, reports from Washington that the FBI is in a state of panic following the disclosure yesterday that the Bureau allowed the sale of 360 firearms to convicted felons, who then took the guns to Mexico where they wound up in the hands of drug cartels.
Said Vanderboegh,
So, what cabal of mid-levels will conspire to throw Mueller and Company in the Potomac and try to salvage the reputation of their "beloved Bureau" by turning on the White House?The possibility certainly exists.And there just so happens to be a bunch of nice young men (mostly) down at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who would be happy to help them out.
The other reporter who helped break the story, National Gun Rights Examiner David Codrea, reports that a former ATF attache to Mexico describes the entire operation as 'a perfect storm of idiocy.' A joint staff report prepared for Congressman Issa and Senator Charles Grassley states the following:
Operation Fast and Furious made unprecedented use of a dangerous investigative technique known as “gunwalking.” Rather than intervene and seize illegally purchase firearms, ATF’s Phoenix Field Division allowed known straw purchasers to walk away with guns, over and over again. As a result, the weapons were transferred to criminals and Mexican Drug Cartels.
The entire report can be read here.
One of the charges contained in the report is aimed at Assistant Attorney-General Lenny Breuer. Reports indicate that Breuer, along wth other agents and officials within the ATF, knew full well that the guns they walked into Mexico were being used to commit acts of violence that eventually resulted in the death of Border Patrol agent Brain Terry.
Such assertions are bolstered by reports such as the one issued today by Reuters which confirms that guns from the illegal ATF scheme are showing up at dozens of crimes scenes throughout Mexico.
It has become clear that an operation so vast that involves multiple agencies of the Obama Administration, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fireams, and Explosives, the Department of Justice, the FBI, and others, would have had to secure the approval of individuals at the very highest layers of the federal government.
But who, exactly?
World Net Daily says that witnesses scheduled to testify at Issa's hearings this week will more than likely name names. WND quotes Vanderboegh, who believes that not only will officials be named as conspirators but that the motive behind the scheme will come to light:
"There are names within Justice, not just in the ATF, that come up time and again in this. One of them is Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. I rather suspect that his name will be mentioned this time," Vanderboegh said. Breuer was one of President Clinton's lawyers during Clinton's impeachment.Vanderboegh said it looks like the government itself, from the highest level, was trying to undermine the Constitution."They're gradually building a case for a much wider, national conspiracy. By the end of this process, they'll be able to prove that orders came from the very top."
UPI issued a report at 1:45 PM EST today that contains statements from witnesses who testified before Issa's committee indicating that many ATF agents were appalled by the entire operation.
Updates will be provided as the situation warrants.
Breaking update: The committee chaired by Issa disclosed today that it possesses emails showing that the Phoenix field division of the ATF informed the NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL about the activities associated with Operation Fast and Furious, according to correspondent David Codrea. The disclosure is not an insignificant factor in this scandal, given that the NSC is made up of the most powerful people in the country, and some of the most powerful in the world:
The President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State are considered to be statutory attendees of NSC meetings, but they are also regularly joined by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Advisor, and other executive officials. The NSC conducts its meetings in the White House Situation Room, and the National Security Advisor’s presence in the West Wing provides the President with direct access to research, briefings, and intelligence related to all aspects of national security. During times of crisis, the National Security Advisor is also responsible for operating out of the Situation Room in order to provide the President and other members of the NSC with regular updates pertaining to the situation at hand.
As reporter Mike Vanderboegh stated, this circumstantial evidence shows that officials in the highest levels of government had information concerning the entire operation.
Continue reading on Examiner.com Breaking updates on House investigation of DOJ-ATF gun smuggling (NEW UPDATE) - National Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/breaking-updates-on-house-investigation-of-doj-atf-gun-smuggling?CID=examiner_alerts_article#ixzz1TFYhIKT7
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