Fast and Furious: Holder was briefed in July 2010

[Iktomiwicasa]

WASHINGTON - New documents obtained by CBS News show Attorney General Eric Holder was sent briefings on the controversial Fast and Furious operation as far back as July 2010. That directly contradicts his statement to Congress.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20115038-10391695.html

An operation of this scale had to have approval high up in the chain of command.

[MADem]

1. That's problematic, unless he can claim he "Cheney-napped" through the briefing. nt

[Kennah]

2. I would not necessarily think so, regarding approval higher up.

There is a difference between attending briefings and being sent briefings. I imagine he gets a pile of shit, and has a staff sifting through it all, but no one necessarily reads it all.

[TheWraith]

3. If his staff didn't alert him to the fact that the ATF was violating several federal laws...

...and international treaties, I'm going to go ahead and say he needs new staffers.

[Kennah]

4. I'll definitely go along with that.

Either Holder or his staff failed to read and note things that should have made their eyes bug out.

[Hoopla Phil]

15. Why should he rely on this staffers to tell him what the laws and treaties are?

After all, HE is the Attorney General is he not? He is supposed to be telling his staffers what the laws and treaties are.

[one-eyed fat man]

6. Horns of a dilemma

Holder has a big problem. By his insistence that he knew nothing about "Fast & Furious" he has to paint himself either as a liar or an incompetent.

[Glassunion]

7. Yes

[SixthSense]

9. Holder could alone sink Obama if he stays on

Comparing the new revelations to the testimony video, Holder definitely perjured himself in front of Congress, it's not ambiguous in any way.

Holder did what he was hired to do (run out the statute of limitations for the bankers). Time for him to go.

[friendly_iconoclast]

10. He may or may not be John Mitchell, but in any event Holder has to go.

And the sooner the better...

[one-eyed fat man]

12. It gets pretty darned close

October emails show Deputy Ass't AG Jason Weinstein noting, "It's a tricky case given the number of guns that have walked." James Trusty, head of DoJ's Organized Crime and Gang Section, replies, "It's not going to be any big surprise that a bunch of US guns are being used in MX, so I'm not sure how much grief we get for 'gun walking."

Deputy and Assistant AG's are discussing it freely in their emails. Holder doesn't know what his immediate underlings are doing? Ignorance or incompetence...or as one wag put it...BOTH.

We’ve heard this was a low level, “rogue” operation, turns out high level officials in the Justice Department, DEA, FBI, DHS, and even members of the White House national security team knew about Operation Fast and Furious.

Last week, ATF offered 400 agents buy outs to avoid budget cuts and is expecting 250-275 agents to take the offer through Voluntary Early Retirement. These buyouts come at a convenient time for the Justice Department, which can eliminate ATF, then say it’s because of budget cuts, when really, it’s to cover their tracks.

.... "We've decided that Operation Fast and Furious was a murderous disaster that only a lunatic could have created. So we've promoted those who created and pushed it, and now we'll lay off all the agents who weren't involved."

Even by DC's rather loose standards of sanity, that's nuts.

[Hoopla Phil]

16. Holder could alone sink the Obama admin if he is fired.

Consider what he may say the Admin. knew and did (whether it is true or not) if he is fired and wants payback.

[razorman]

21. It could depend on how upset he is, and what kind of evidence he has, too.

Holder has been around the president and the Democratic party a long time. There is no telling what sort of proof he has. Aside from that, evidence might not be necessary to take people down if he makes accusations. I am sure that investigators will suddenly begin believing him if he tries to get revenge on his party, if he believes it wronged him.
Republicans will love a turncoat Democrat, just as we gleefully embrace a Republican one. It is politics as usual.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

14. Both liars and incompetents...

...collect pensions all the time.

ETA: sometimes especially liars and incompetents. ;)

[Katya Mullethov]

5. Blethis Thart .

He must be an emotional train wreck right now . (forcefully exhales)

[spin]

8. The scandal grows day by day. It's starting to attract a lot of attention ...

this is a bad thing to be happening to Obama as he is starting his campaign for reelection. In my opinion it would have been best for the Obama administration to have fully cooperated with the investigation at the beginning and simply admitted that Operation Fast and Furious was ill conceived and foolish but was started with good intentions.

However the depth of this scandal may have made that difficult as it it's beginning to look like it goes far beyond the ATF and might also involve the FBI, DOA and possibly even the CIA.

The sad reality is that many of these firearms are still unaccounted for and may well end up used in crime to injure or kill innocent people both in Mexico and here in the United States.

[one-eyed fat man]

11. The growing problem

Any time there is any kind of government operation that involves several agencies, there are always inter-agency conferences where jurisdictional squabbles, limits and rules get ironed out.

DEA, FBI and ATF all belong to the Justice Department, and Holder owns them all. Now if you add other Cabinet level departments, like Homeland Security or State, then their boss is the President.

If you limit the damage to Justice only Holder needs to get thrown under the bus. Any higher than that the best anyone could claim is the White House Chief of Staff exceeded his authority.

[SteveM]

13. And just what is the "...Media Exploitation Team..." within the pithy description?

Is it the modern equivalent of "public relations/public information?" I find it curious that such an entity is wrapped up within what seems like an on-going operation:

"National Drug Intelligence Center Document and Media Exploitation Team at the Phoenix Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force will support BATFE..."

Sounds like "media exploitation" was/is as on-going as the hands-on operations, perhaps occurring concurrently. Such hand-in-glove relationships appear common in War on Drug task forces, but does this same dynamic occur with ostensibly gun law violations, esp. since the outcomes of Fast and Furious seemed up in the air? In other words, blathering in local news about a 20 lb. pot bust is one thing; having "media exploitation" as part of operations in a long-term effort is putting the cart a mile ahead of the horse.

[Katya Mullethov]

18. "putting the cart a mile ahead"

Is absolutely not in the inverse , and this is exactly how it's done at the Ministry of Propaganda .

Before any major or painful "change" , one must get the electorate ready and hammer em good with whatever reality you are creating. Given enough time , it will become common knowledge and established fact . Media exploitation is absolutely necessary as a means to control the narrative . But the times they are a changin' and just what constitutes "The Media" and just whom can control the narrative is not as cut and dried as it was .

Same old song, different verse . The only constant is the complaining of the pigs at the pork factory .

[one-eyed fat man]

17. I’m completely amazed that CBS is covering F&F.

One of the precious few establishment media outlets who have seriously covered the growing Fast & Furious scandal has been CBS News, led by intrepid reporter Sharyl Attkisson. Now the Obama Administration has responded to that coverage by attempting to intimidate Attkisson to move off the story with screaming and yelling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uS1t87pRix0

"Yes. Well the DOJ woman was just yelling at me. The guy from the White House on Friday night literally screamed at me and cussed at me.

(Laura: Who was the person? Who was the person at Justice screaming?)

Eric Schultz. Oh, the person screaming was Tracy Schmaler, she was yelling not screaming. And the person who screamed at me was Eric Schultz at the White House."

"(The White House and Justice Department) will tell you that I’m the only reporter–as they told me–that is not reasonable. They say the Washington Post is reasonable, the LA Times is reasonable, the New York Times is reasonable, I’m the only one who thinks this is a story, and they think I’m unfair and biased by pursuing it."

[slackmaster]

19. Obama: 'Complete confidence' in Holder

...President Obama expressed confidence in Attorney General Eric Holder while distancing himself from the "Fast and Furious" controversy.

Obama offered his complete confidence in Holder, whom some Republicans say should resign over Operation Fast and Furious, a federal gun-tracking program in which guns were sold to suspected straw buyers for Mexican drug cartels.

At the same time, Obama said he "certainly" had no knowledge of the program run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Obama said that Holder has "been very clear that he was not aware about what was happening with Fast and Furious — certainly I was not" and that he was glad that the attorney general had been "very aggressive in going after gun-running."...

http://www.wtov9.com/news/29398782/detail.html

[one-eyed fat man]

20. It's even made NPR now

http://m.npr.org/news/U.S./141124685?textSize=large

Old hands in Washington know it's never a good sign when the president of the United States has to make a statement like this one.

"I have complete confidence in Attorney General Holder, in how he handles his office," President Obama told reporters at a news conference Thursday. "He has been very aggressive in going after gunrunning and cash transactions that are going to these transnational drug cartels."

The last time Eric Holder participated in a high-profile vetting, it was for fugitive financier Marc Rich.

2001: ‘MR. RICH’S NAME WAS UNFAMILIAR TO ME.’

2011: "I have no recollection of knowing about Fast and Furious prior to the public controversy about it."

But that’s Holder’s story, and he’s sticking to it: even if it turns out not to be true.