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Eric Holder on the Hill faces friendlier fire

by Admin on February 28, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Homeland Security, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Eric Holder testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, noting the “appropriate” way he was asked about Fast and Furious there – unlike in other hearings where he had been grilled at length over the gun-walking program.

Eric Holder testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. | AP

“This is very interesting. I’m having a conversation about Fast and Furious in a very appropriate, neutral, detached way. Which by the way is fundamentally different from my experience with other committees. And this is – I wouldn’t say pleasant – but it’s different,” said Holder.

Holder’s comments are a subtle jab at House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Republicans in the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, who have been much more contentious when questioning Holder about the controversial Fast and Furious program.

“There is a certain amount of mistrust, a certain amount of partisan wrangling going on,” said Holder about his relationship with Capitol Hill.

Before the House Oversight Committee earlier this month, Holder had said that he thought the questions asked at that hearing were generally “tough” and “fair,” with the exception of one question from Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.).

“How many more Border Patrol agents would have had to die as part of Operation Fast and Furious for you to take responsibility?” Buerkle had asked.

Tuesday’s hearing, which was mainly about Justice Department budget matters, stayed largely clear from gun-walking program.

“I’ve not shied away from the fact that I’m ultimately responsible for what happens in the Department of Justice,” said Holder, when asked about the gun-walking program, while noting that the DoJ Inspector General’s report was still forthcoming.

“It was a bad attempt at trying to deal with a very pernicious problem, where guns are flowing from the United States to Mexico. In its conception, in its execution, it was fundamentally flawed,” Holder said about Fast and Furious. “I understand what they were trying to do, but they were doing it extremely, extremely poorly… it’s bad law enforcement.”

The Department of Justice and the attorney general have been under fire for over a year regarding the controversial operation, which attempted to investigate drug cartels and weapons traffickers but instead ended up supplying them with weapons. Investigators lost thousands of firearms, many of which crossed the border into Mexico.

Firearms linked to the operation were later found to have been involved in the December 2010 shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73379.html#ixzz1nhn95Mzj

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CBS has new revelation in Zapata slaying, and Sen. Grassley is not happy Continue reading on Examiner.com CBS has new revelation in Zapata slaying, and Sen. Grassley is not happy

by Admin on February 23, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Homeland Security, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Murdered Border Agent Jamie Zapata

CBS News’ Sharyl Attkisson is reporting that a Texas man named Manuel Barba has been sentenced for trafficking a firearm connected to the murder of Jaime Zapata, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed more than a year ago in a Mexican ambush.

This obviously came as a surprise to Sen. Charles Grassley, who told this column via e-mail:

“I’ve been asking for information from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security on the circumstances surrounding the murder of ICE Agent Zapata for almost a year, only to be met with resistance and more of the same stonewalling. If these revelations prove to be true, it’s a sad commentary that this known trafficker was allowed to continue his illegal purchases, including trafficking the apparent weapon used in the murder of our own agent.”—Sen. Charles Grassley

 The veteran Iowa Republican, who has been investigating Operation Fast and Furious since January 2011, is not the only person who was surprised by the CBS report. So were members of Zapata’s family and their attorney, who — according to CBS News — “didn’t know that Barba had been arrested or linked to their son’s murder.”

Attkisson is one of a handful of journalists who has been working the story of federal gunwalking since early last year, so she gets her facts straight. Quoting Zapata family attorney Trey Martinez, her story notes:

“They were surprised they had never been contacted in the capacity as victims so they could give a response or some kind of reaction at the time of sentencing.”

The Barba case also reportedly surprised ICE agent Victor Avila, who was wounded in the ambush that took Zapata’s life.

This hardly marks the first time that Sen. Grassley, ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, has had his patience tested in relation to what now appears to be a case with way too many tentacles to be just a foul-up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. A pattern has emerged that does not help the image of the ATF.

According to CBS News, Barba was under ATF surveillance for several months before a rifle he trafficked ended up at the Zapata slaying crime scene, hundreds of miles away, in a foreign country.

Murdered Border Patrol Officer Brian Terry

This is eerily reminiscent of the case involving Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and the man who bought the rifles recovered at the scene of his murder in Arizona. ATF agents knew that Jaime Avila was a suspect in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation, and they knew that he had purchase a lot of guns. But they didn’t arrest him until hours after Terry was killed, and only after investigators discovered that two of the guns he bought early in 2010 was found at the scene. This column discussed Avila’s purchasing habits early last year.

It is clear from Grassley’s remarks that he is tired of surprises. Here’s something that should not surprise anyone: The Hawkeye State senator is going to demand answers about the Barba case, and he’s not going to be satisfied until he gets them.

(Our thanks to Grassley’s press spokesperson Beth Levine, who secured Grassley’s remark late Wednesday for this column.)

Continue reading on Examiner.com 

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Man plans to fight gun-trafficking conviction, sentence

by Admin on February 21, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Homeland Security, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Mexican Cartel War, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Via: By EMMA PEREZ-TREVINO, The Brownsville Herald

Murdered Border Agent Jamie Zapata

The man who admitted sending to Mexico an assault rifle used in the killing of ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico intends to appeal his conviction and his sentence.

Manuel Gomez Barba of Baytown had pleaded guilty to exporting a total of 44 weapons and was sentenced to 100 months in prison, in addition to a sentence he was given earlier on drug charges.

On Thursday he filed the notice of intent to appeal.

The weapon, similar to an AK-47, is one of two recovered in Mexico where Zapata was killed and fellow Special Agent Victor Avila wounded on Feb. 15, 2011, federal court records show.

The court record indicates that the weapon was purchased Aug. 20, 2010, in Beaumont by straw purchaser Robert Riendfliesh on Gomez Barba’s behalf.

Gomez Barba arranged for the purchase of this weapon and others and for their exportation for use by the Zeta criminal organization, from mid-2010 to early 2011.

Gomez Barba was sentenced on Jan. 30 this year on the weapons charge.

Prior to his sentencing, Gomez Barba maintained that he never met Riendfliesh and that another straw purchaser, Blandon Shaffer, had been the one who recruited Riendfliesh and coached him on what to say.

Gomez Barba also objected to a point in the presentencing report where it said that a Glock 23, .40-caliber pistol with eight live rounds of ammunition, had been found at his home. He said it was found at his parents’ home.

He also stated that Otilio Osorio had pleaded guilty to the weapon that killed Zapata.

The public record shows that a second weapon also used in the attack on Zapata and Avila was traced to Osorio, of Lancaster, who bought it Oct. 10, 2010, in Joshua, Texas. Osorio pleaded guilty to a weapons violation on Oct. 25, 2011, and awaits sentencing.

Court records show that Gomez Barba was cooperating with narcotics investigators in June 2010 and was released from federal custody pending trial on a drug charge without objection by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.

While this was happening, Riendfliesh and three other straw purchasers were buying the firearms in the Southern District of Texas. Riendfliesh and the other purchasers were placed on probation for their role in the operation.

The firms of Martinez, Barrera y Martinez of Brownsville, Rad Law Firm of Dallas and Kittleman, Thomas & Gonzales of McAllen represent Zapata’s family and Avila and his wife in their quest for answers about the shooting and circumstances surrounding it.

Attorney Trey Martinez was surprised to learn about the drug charge against Gomez Barba, which led to his cooperation with narcotics investigators in June 2010.

“This would lend further credence to the fact that the government either knew or should have known that these weapons were being bought by straw purchasers and then being sent to Mexico,” Martinez said.

On Wednesday, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said she didn’t know if the two weapons were tied to Operation Fast and Furious.

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Feinstein challenger: Drop Fast & Furious gun-control agenda

by Admin on February 21, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Crime and Border Security, Fast and Furious, Gun Control, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Image/AP

California Republican Elizabeth Emken, who is challenging 20-year incumbent Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein for her seat in November, told The Daily Caller that her opponent is “protecting Washington insiders” with regard to Operation Fast and Furious.

“Rather than Feinstein trumpeting her own gun control agenda here, she should be working to the get the truth out to the American public,” Emken said in a phone interview. “And, I think [House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell] Issa is very meticulous in ensuring that this is a fact-based investigation. Where will it end? I think you and I both have a pretty good guess, based on the obfuscation, deflecting and delay — everything that they can do rather than actually produce the records.”

Keep reading…

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BREITBART: ‘THE MOST SINISTER SCREENWRITER’ COULD NOT INVENT ‘FAST & FURIOUS’

by Admin on February 21, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Breitbart told “The Daily Caller” that of the big stories that the media is ignoring the “Fast & Furious” scandal is one of his top picks. He said that even those in Hollywood couldn’t dream up a scenario where the government crafts a program with the “[purpose] of creating a narrative that they could use in America to try and thwart our Second Amendment constitutional rights.”

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Boehner: I ‘support’ Issa’s ‘efforts’ to hold DOJ accountable [VIDEO]

by Admin on February 16, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Homeland Security, John Boehner, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Via: The Daily Caller

Speaker of the House John Boehner told The Daily Caller that he supports the “efforts” of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee in investigating the Fast and Furious operation but would not say if he thinks Attorney General Eric Holder should resign.

Watch:

During his weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill, TheDC asked Boehner, “Will you support the 100-plus members who have called for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign and bring up [Arizona Republican] Rep. [Paul] Gosar’s resolution of no confidence to the floor?”

“I think Chairman Issa and the members of the committee have done a very good job of investigating this abuse of government power,” Boehner replied, “and I continue to support their efforts and believe that this Justice Department must be held accountable.”

California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the committee, has moved to hold Attorney General Holder in contempt for failing to provide him subpoenaed documents related to the Fast and Furious gun-running operation. (RELATED: Issa takes step toward holding Holder in contempt of Congress)

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Breaking: Issa turns up heat on Holder

by Admin on February 15, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Homeland Security, Illegal Immigration, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Congressman Darrell Issa turns up the heat on Attorney General Eric Holder in a seven page letter on the Fast and Furious scandal. Credits: (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) Continue reading on Examiner.com Breaking: Issa turns up heat on Holder - National Conservative | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/breaking-issa-turns-up-heat-on-holder#ixzz1mUgsChHf

After Eric Holder and the Justice Department missed the Feb. 9 deadline to submit subpoenaed documents to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, committee chair Darrell Issa has turned up the heat on Holder in a seven page letter demanding that Justice indicate a specific date the documents will be turned over and designate an official DOJ liaison who will interface with the committee as the investigation moves forward.

The DOJ had requested an open ended extension of the deadline to turn over the documents.

But Issa stated that the committee can wait no longer.

In the letter, Issa requested that the DOJ liaison should also serve as the go-between to handle possible contempt citations the committee may deliver against Justice Department officials for the repeated failure to deliver subpoenaed documents.

Continue reading on Examiner.com 

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BREAKING Fast and Furious: Rep. Issa to Holder, We Want Documents Now, Contempt Charges Still On The Table

by Admin on February 15, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Homeland Security, Justice Department - Eric Holder with No comments

Big Government: by AWR Hawkins

On February 14th I received an email from House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa’s (R-CA) office, containing a copy of a letter the Congressman just sent to Attorney General Eric Holder. In it, Issa points out Holder’s “lack of good faith,” in not complying with document requests heretofore, and to the fact that the DOJ as a whole appears “more concerned with protecting its image through spin control than actually cooperating with Congress.”

Wrote Issa:

The Justice Department’s request for additional time has, unfortunately, not been followed by efforts to bridge the significant differences between its legal obligation to Congress and the reality of its stonewalling. The [House Oversight and Government Reform Committee] is determined to know what happened in Operation Fast and Furious and how the Justice Department responded when it was publicly confronted with evidence of reckless conduct after Agent Terry’s death. If the Justice Department cannot commit to providing, at a minimum, a detailed description of documents it is withholding, and the legal basis for doing so, then the committee has no other option than to move forward with the contempt process against Attorney General Holder.

In addition, the letter sets forth central questions that have to be answers, among which are:

1. Exactly how and when did senior Department officials learn the truth of what happened?

2. Did Department officials retaliate against whistleblowers?

3. Why did Department officials decide to move forward with prosecuting old cases involving highly objectionable tactics when line prosecutors had refused to do so?

4. Why did senior Department officials fail to see the clear connection between Fast and Furious and prior flawed operations they have admitted they knew about?

5. When did the Department first learn about Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer’s February 2011 suggestion of gunwalking, and why did the Department wait so long before telling Congress about it?

6. A year later, will the responsible senior Department officials be held accountable?

The letter also contains a specific line of questions about Patrick Cunningham, Chief of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, who pled the 5th when subpoenaed by Issa. Apparently, Cunningham did his own “comprehensive review” of Fast and Furious in April 2011, and Issa wants to know what he found out.

Wrote Issa: “What information did Cunningham uncover To whom did he report this information? What was done with this information?”

Issa ended his letter thus:

Keep reading…

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Issa takes step toward holding Holder in contempt of Congress

by Admin on February 14, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Gun Control, Homeland Security, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Project Gunwalker with 1 Comment

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. (Flickr)

On Tuesday Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House committee on Oversight and Government Reform, took a major step toward holding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for his failure to provide subpoenaed documents and other information about Operation Fast and Furious.

In a Jan. 31 letter, Issa had threatened Holder with such a move if he failed to provide all the subpoenaed documents relating to the Fast and Furious gunwalking scandal by Feb. 9. That deadline has come and gone, and Holder’s Department of Justice still hasn’t provided most of those documents. Issa’s subpoena dates back to Oct. 12, 2011.

On Tuesday in a seven-page letter, Issa revealed that Deputy Attorney General James Cole begged Congress to extend the Feb. 9 deadline. Issa wrote that the request was “ironic” and “ignores the reality that the Department has unreasonably delayed producing these documents to the Committee.”

“On its face, the requested extension demonstrates a lack of good faith,” Issa wrote to Holder. “With one exception, the Department has only produced documents responsive to the subpoena on the eve of congressional hearings in which senior Department officials testified. The Department appears to be more concerned with protecting its image through spin control than actually cooperating with Congress.”

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Cruz: ‘Every member of Congress should speak out’ on Fast and Furious; Holder needs to resign, be fired, or be impeached [VIDEO]

by Admin on February 13, 2012 in 2nd Amendment, ATF, Border Patrol, Bryan Terry, Fast and Furious, Homeland Security, Justice Department - Eric Holder, Project Gunwalker with No comments

Former Texas solicitor general and current Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz told The Daily Caller that he expects every member of Congress to step up the push for answers and accountability with regard to Operation Fast and Furious. Cruz also said that he thinks Attorney General Eric Holder should resign, that President Barack Obama should fire him or that the U.S. House of Representatives should move to impeach him.

“Fast and Furious is an outrage,” Cruz told The Daily Caller at this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C. “I’ve spent much of my adult life in law enforcement. The idea that our federal law enforcement was knowingly and willingly selling guns to Mexican drug cartels and that those guns have been used to murder innocent civilians and murder a federal law enforcement officer, I mean, that is truly shocking. It is outrageous and no one has been held accountable. I’ve been speaking out on this a long time. People all over Texas and all over the country are outraged, and Eric Holder needs to resign. Whatever he knew, or didn’t know, ultimately, the buck stops with him in the Department of Justice and the idea that ours is running guns to Mexican drug cartels. You can’t make this stuff up. He needs to submit his resignation and if he doesn’t submit his resignation, President Obama needs to fire him because our U.S. Department of Justice cannot be providing guns to criminals.”

As of Monday, 103 members of the House have demanded Attorney General Eric Holder’s resignation or firing over the scandal, signed an official resolution of “no confidence” in Holder, or both. Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Johnny Isakson of Georgia and James Inhofe of Oklahoma; all major Republican presidential candidates; and two sitting governors — Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Rick Perry of Texas — have demanded Holder’s resignation, too.

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